Akame ga Kill: Wrath of the Ultrabots
by reeleffendeel
Summary: Taking place several days after the assassination of Zanku, a terrifying force the likes of which no one has ever seen or even knew existed has unleashed a swath of unstoppable destruction upon The Empire. Lines will be drawn, loyalties will be severed, bonds will be strengthened and enemies will become allies. *ON HIATUS DUE TO OTHER PROJECTS*
1. Calm before the storm

**What's up folks? Welcome to my second crossover fanfiction, this time centered on the cult hit sensation, Akame ga Kill, and the greatest cartoon of all time, Samurai Jack!**

 **Before I talk about how this rare crossover came to be, I'll have to explain something first.**

 **I** _ **love**_ **Akame ga Kill. The characters, the setting, the teams and everything about it just screams awesomesauce! However…I can't bring myself to enjoy the story. Why you ask?**

 **Too many unnecessary character deaths.**

 **Now I understand that deaths in anime are supposed to inspire someone to get stronger and avenge their comrades. Normally 1 or 2 deaths are more than enough to strengthen the main characters resolve.**

 **For Goku, Krillin's death made him achieve Super Saiyan for the first time and that enabled him to beat Freiza.**

 **For Luffy, Ace's death taught him that not everyone can be saved, but he hasn't lost everything and he still has something precious worth fighting for: his friends.**

 **For Tatsumi, Sayo and Ieyasu's deaths inspired him to join Night Raid to fight the corruption of the Empire. That's when they should have stopped there.**

 **Yes they're sad, but they are the kinds of deaths we eventually grow to accept and make us cherish the characters even more.**

 **But Akame ga Kill crosses the line when it kills off its main cast every 20 chapters. I don't care if the more despicable villains get offed but killing the main characters we've grown to love is not only cruel, it's a punch to the face. The anime makes it a 100 times worse. There is no happy ending for anyone,** _ **everyone**_ _ **dies**_ **(except for Akame and Najenda).I was hoping the manga might not go down the same path as the anime but after reading chapter 72, all my hopes are dashed. So yes, I do love Akame ga Kill but lament on its wasted potential.**

 **But there's one thing fanfiction has taught me:** _ **you can change and alter their destinies.**_ **That's what inspired me to write fanfics and made me feel a little bit better knowing that I can have the main cast, as well as others, live and grant them a better ending.**

 **Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's move on to the story itself!**

 **At first I thought I would it would be cool add Jack and the Scotsman into the story but then I thought it would be more entertaining to add in one of the villains he faced. I immediately decided not to use Aku because you need Jack's enchanted samurai sword to beat him and it was difficult to work him into the story.**

 **So I decided to use either the Minions of Set or the Ultrabots. None of those groups could be harmed by Jack's sword and they were pure nightmare fuel. The Minions of Set were blindingly fast and brutally powerful while the Ultrabots were nearly indestructible and possessed weapons that could level an entire city.**

 **I was going to use the Minions of Set for this fic but that's when I realized something: There are no major technological advances in Akame ga Kill. Sure, there's Pumpkin, the prosthetics that Seryu and Najenda have and the all of the crazy crap that Dr. Stylish does but they are nowhere near the level of technology that the Samurai Jack universe has.**

 **That's what inspired me to write this crossover fic: The Ultrabots show no emotion, no mercy, they cannot be reasoned with, they are made of nearly impenetrable metal but the most defining thing about them is that they have access to technology that shouldn't even exist in the Akame ga Kill universe. That should make them more than a match for most of the Teigu users in that world.**

 **This story was actually more fun to write then my last one so this** _ **may**_ **be frequently updated.**

 **Before you read, here are some facts you should know:**

 **-This will take place in a slightly AU of Akame ga kill. The time placement is a little bit after Tatsumi's attempt to use Zanku's Teigu and his tender moment with Sheele. However, General Budo is already present at The Capital, the Jaegers and Wild Hunt have already been formed, General Esdeath is still waging war in the northern territories, and Susanoo has already been activated and bonded to Najenda for a long time but hasn't used his trump card yet.**

 **-Chelsea and Susanoo have already joined Night Raid way before Tatsumi left his village. The two of them are stationed at the Revolutionary Army headquarters but will meet up with Night Raid later on.**

 **-Instead of the original 8 Ultrabots featured in the show, there will be 19 of them and each will have their own weapons.**

 **-Exdor, the scientist who built them, will be present in this fic and how he managed to build them will be revealed in later chapters.**

 **Akame ga Kill and Samurai Jack belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1

Calm before the storm

NIGHT RAID HEADQUARTERS-TRAINING GROUNDS

It was a day like any other. The sun shone across the hideout of Night Raid as a sparring match between its members broke the serene silence.

"Come on, Tatsumi! Show me what you learned!"

"Alright, but you better watch yourself bro!"

Tatsumi launched into a flurry of kicks and punches against Bulat, attempting to aim for any weak points the former soldier of The Empire might have. He was actually doing surprisingly well for a boy of his height. Bulat was easily defending himself, but he noticed that Tatsumi's blows were getting stronger and he was also getting quicker.

"Not bad! You're actually managing to keep up!" Bulat complimented as he parried Tatsumi's attacks.

"What can I say? I learned from the best." Tatsumi replied as he rushed forward in an attempt to grapple him.

"Will you two just kiss already?" Someone said.

"WHAT!?"

Tatsumi tripped over a little giving Bulat just enough time to tackle him to the ground, pin his arms behind his back and put him into a headlock. He managed to look up little to see who distracted him. It was Leone, the wisecracker of Night Raid.

"Do you always need to make fun of my sexuality? It's really getting insensitive." Bulat scolded.

"Hey, it's not my fault you're a walking punchline!" Leone joked, grinning broadly.

"I would have won if you hadn't distracted me, you know!" Tatsumi grunted as he struggled to get himself free from Bulat's iron grip.

"You may have, but a man never lets anything distract him in the middle of a fight!" Bulat lectured.

"That and you're just too easy to tease!" Leone added as she knelt down and playfully poked Tatsumi's cheek.

"Anyway, that should be enough for today. You did a nice job bro!" Bulat said as he released Tatsumi and helped him up. "We'll start advanced weapons training tomorrow. Hope you're ready!" He said as he walked out of the training grounds.

"You can count on it! "Tatsumi eagerly called after him.

"Looks like you're getting better at combat lately. Maybe you should try going a couple rounds with your big sister!" Leone suggested.

"I'm not so sure, I heard that you tend to fight dirty." Tatsumi said, slowly inching away from her.

"What!? Who the hell told you that load of crap!?" Leone demanded.

"Mine." Tatsumi answered innocently.

"That flat-chested little ankle biter…" Leone muttered under her breath. She made a mental note to lock her teammate in closet later. "Look, that kid's just pulling your leg. You know you can trust me right?"

"Remember how our first meeting went?" Tatsumi reminded her.

Leone sweatdropped. That's when an idea came to her head.

"Alright, I guess I'll train by my lonesome." She said sadly. "All alone. No one to talk to or laugh with, just poor lonely old me."

She started sulking away with her head hung low but that's when she felt Tatsumi put his hand on her shoulder.

"You know…maybe after my training with Bulat tomorrow, you and I could spar together. Maybe you can teach me some new moves!" Tatsumi said, trying to cheer Leone up. Luckily for him, it did just that.

"Awwww! I knew my little Tatsumi would believe in her big sister!" Leone said happily as she pulled him into a big hug, unaware that she mashed his head into her bosom.

"Can't…breathe…." Tatsumi croaked.

* * *

NIGHT RAID HEADQUARTERS-RIVERBED

 _BA-KOW_

"And that's 12 in a row!" Mine said victoriously as she slung Pumpkin over her shoulder.

"I'm not really sure that's the proper way to catch fish Mine." Said Sheele as she looked up from her book.

"Says the airhead who mistakes a donkey for a horse." Mine teased as she hauled another super-sized trout out of the stream and onto the ever-growing pile of its comrades. Sheele sighed and closed her book. She looked upwards toward the clear blue sky and smiled. Today truly was beautiful afternoon. It was nice to have break after numerous missions in the Capital.

"Wassup guys!" A cheerful voice called. Sheele and Mine turned around to see Leone and Tatsumi trudging up the hill. "Well, well, well. Look who came back from training! How'd it go with Bulat?" Mine asked with an ear to ear smile on her face.

"Tatsumi did great job! You guys should have seen him!" Said Leone, unware that Tatsumi was giving her a nasty look. He really didn't want her telling them how she distracted him.

"Uh...yeah! I have advanced training with him tomorrow!" Tatsumi said before Leone could tell them the rest (much to her disappointment).

"Don't forget that you have training tomorrow with me as well, Tatsumi." Sheele reminded him.

"Oh! Of course! How could I forget?" Tatsumi said as he rubbed the back of his head. Sheele simply giggled. It was strange how he could be so forgetful like her.

' _I swear these two are long lost siblings.'_ Mine thought. That's when a shadow fell over her. She looked up to see Leone standing over her, a shadow cast over her eyes as she grinned maliciously. "So… I hear that a certain someone has been spreading some slanderous rumors about me. Now why would you go around telling everyone such blatant lies, hmmm?" She asked innocently, but her tone of voice made her sound rather thuggish.

"Hey…uh…is that the boss over there?" Mine nervously replied while pointer finger behind Leone.

"Where?" Leone looked over her shoulder to see no one there. She turned back around just in time to see Mine stuff all 12 trout in a bag and run for her life down the hill back to their hideout. Leone's only response was activating Lionelle and chasing after her like a hungry predator.

"You think Mine will get far?" Sheele asked.

"Kyaaaaaaaaa!"

"Nope." Tatsumi answered. "Say, do you know where Akame is? I haven't seen her anywhere." He asked.

"Well… I did hear she was going to check the woods for any Danger Beasts near our perimeter. She should be back-"

 _ **THROOOOM**_

"…soon." She finished.

As if on que, a massive Danger Beast erupted out of the woods next to Sheele and Tatsumi. The creature was as big as a house and looked like a combination of a rhino, a mantis and a monitor lizard. "A Forest Dragon!? All the way out here!?" Tatsumi panicked as he instinctively pulled out his sword. That's when Sheele stepped in front of him.

"Calm yourself Tatsumi. I will handle…uh-oh." She said, first starting out sternly and then innocently.

"What's wrong?"

Sheele turned around, showing Tatsumi her tear stained face and look of embarrassment. "I left Extase back in my room…"

' _YOU REALLY ARE AN AIRHEAD!_ ' Tatsumi mentally screeched.

The Forest Dragon's eyes suddenly rolled into the back of its head and keeled over right in front of them.

 _ **THWUMP**_

Tatsumi and Sheele were left wondering what happened, but they looked at the dragon's side and noticed it had a long gash trailing from its neck to its tail. They saw numerous markings snaking around the wound and it became clear that it was Akame's Murasame that finished it off.

Speaking of which, the said Teigu user walked out of the woods, seemingly satisfied with her kill. "I found it digging up some trees near our base. It was probably trying to build a nest out here and lay eggs. Luckily I found it before it could compromise our location." Akame explained to her comrades.

"It's a good thing you did; I don't think I want to have its babies all over the place." Tatsumi added.

"Awwww…I hear Forest Dragon babies are cute." Sheele bemoaned, earning strange looks from Tatsumi and Akame.

"Wow…I've never seen a Forest Dragon up close before. It almost looks like an Earth Dragon." Tatsumi mused.

"You've seen an Earth Dragon? Those are incredibly rare!" Sheele gasped. Akame took an interest as well.

"Yeah! In fact, I killed one before I came to the Capital!" Tatsumi said, reflecting on the memory.

"Really? I hear their armor is as hard as steel." Akame said, remembering an entry in a Danger Beast encyclopedia.

"Actually, Earth Dragons are pretty easy to take down once you aim for the places on their bodies that are unarmored." Tatsumi informed.

"Interesting… you should probably tell that to the others at dinner tonight." Akame suggested as she, Tatsumi and Sheele walked back their hideout.

"Good idea. I'm sure the others will get a kick out of it." Tatsumi said as he watched Sheele try to calm down Leone who was attempting to rip off Mine's pigtails.

"Speaking of which, I could use a helping hand preparing dinner. Would you like to help?" Tatsumi asked.

"Sure. I'd be glad to." Akame smiled.

"Just promise me that you won't eat all the ingredients."

"….I'll try."

* * *

NIGHT RAID CONFERENCE ROOM-SEVERAL HOURS LATER

It had been a very eventful dinner for Night Raid. Most of the team was solely focused on Tatsumi's recount on slaying an Earth Dragon. Sheele explained that Earth Dragons live out their entire lives underground and they only come up to the surface if their territory is disturbed. This lead to Leone reminding the others that it was her idea to have him join Night Raid and how much help he's been since then. The other members began talking about how they could handle an Earth Dragon with their Teigus, but Akame reminded them that Tatsumi slayed it without one.

After dinner was over, the team's leader, Najenda, called the others to the conference room for an important meeting. Once everyone was settled down, Najenda took a long drag of her cigar and put in out in her tray.

"Okay guys, I going to need your undivided attention. So far we've been doing great in our missions but the higher ups at The Capital are starting to take notice and they're not happy."

"They should be." Leone joked.

"In response to our actions, Prime Minister Honest has created two different police forces to stop us: Wild Hunt and The Jaegers."

"Two different teams? That's gonna put us in a vice..." Lubbock said, worried.

"That's not the half of it. Two of these teams are led by different people. Wild Hunt is led by the Prime Minister's son, Syura."

"He has a son!?" Mine exclaimed, completely flabbergasted.

"What kind of woman would want to have children with someone like him?" Tatsumi questioned.

"I think the less we know the better." Akame suggested.

"Ugh…the mental image alone..." Bulat shuddered.

"What about the Jaegers? Who's their leader?" Sheele asked.

"Esdeath." Najenda grimly confirmed.

A cold silence fell over the room and Tatsumi could understand why. Mine had told him all sorts of horror stories about Esdeath's cruelty and sadism as well as the numerous forms of gruesome torture she inflicted upon her prisoners. If she was leader of this secondary police force, then it meant that its members were most likely very powerful like her.

"Speaking of Esdeath, I do have a bit of good news." Najenda said, hoping to clear the tension filled air. "It turns out that her campaign in the north is taking longer than anticipated. Looks like Prince Numa is giving her more trouble than we thought so it will be a while if she ever comes back to the Capital."

That made most of the team feel a little bit better but some of them feared that it would only be a matter of time before the prince of the northern tribes would be outmatched and eventually overwhelmed.

"Anyway, I'm getting off track. Our spies have managed to gather some useful but troubling information on them: they're all Teigu users."

Everybody was stunned when they heard that. It would sometimes be rare for them to encounter a Teigu user but two teams filled to the brim with them? That spelled trouble for all of them.

"In response to this, we are going to train as hard as we possibly can. No slacking off, no goofing around, it's time to get dead serious. We need to be prepared if we ever go up against one of them so I'm going to have you all start a very strict training regimen tomorrow."

Everyone nodded in agreement. It was going to be tough, but it was necessary if they were ever going to free The Empire from Honest's hedonistic influence and abuse of power.

"Do we know who they are or what kind of Teigus they use?" Bulat inquired.

"Unfortunately no. The best we can do is be prepared if we ever face off against them."

"Oh, we'll be prepared alright! Once were done with training, they won't know what hit 'em!" Leone boasted while cracking her knuckles.

"You may count me in as well. I wish to train myself beyond my limitations." Akame said sternly.

"Me too." Tatsumi said, joining in. "Even though I've been with you all for several days, I don't feel like I'm getting any stronger. I don't want to be nuisance to you guys so I hope that I'll be able to-"

Before he could finish the whole team starting laughing uproariously, catching Tatsumi off guard.

"A nuisance? After spending all this time with us, you seriously think you're a nuisance?" Lubbock chuckled.

"If you were completely useless, we would've kicked you out a long time ago." Mine scoffed.

"You've been amazingly helpful to us Tatsumi. More than you know." Sheele reassured him.

"Just because you don't have a Teigu doesn't mean your weak, bro. I know plenty of people who are incredibly skilled without one." Bulat said proudly.

"Besides, did you forget that you took down a corrupt Imperial captain all by yourself _and_ help bag us a Teigu?" Leone reminded him.

"You're not a nuisance Tatsumi. You're an excellent fighter, you've helped us complete several missions that we probably couldn't have done without you and we'd be more than happy to help train you. You're one of us now; we always look out for each other." Akame said, smiling brightly.

Tatsumi could feel his heart melt. Ever since the deaths of Sayo and Ieyasu, he feared that nobody could replace them and that he would be unable to move on without them. But he was wrong. Despite his loss, he found Night Raid who shared their sympathy towards him and willingly let them into their group.

In the days that followed, they had quickly repaired the hole in his heart and he found the will to move on. He was fighting for a better future for the Empire and to help save his village from poverty. It was what Sayo and Ieyasu would want and he had comrades that would support him and encourage him till the end.

He was happy to call them his friends. It almost brought a tear to his eye.

"Thanks guys." Tatsumi said, his voice wavering a bit.

Najenda smiled. She admittedly had her doubts before but Tatsumi proved himself to a very capable assassin and he did help them complete multiple assignments. Not only that, but the kid was starting to grow on her a little. He reminded her of how she was once a young teen with big dreams. Seeing the rest of Night Raid give their encouragement towards Tatsumi made Najenda happy that she assembled such an incredible team.

"Glad to see you're all giving your support to our newest member. Anyway, this meeting is adjourned. Go get plenty of sleep guys, you've all got a long day tomorrow."

* * *

NIGHTRAID HEDQUARTERS- BEDROOMS

After taking a bath and brushing his teeth, Tatsumi made his way to his bedroom but not before bumping into Lubbock in the hallways.

"Hiya Tatsumi! I take it you're hitting the hay tonight?" He greeted.

"Got that right. I have to get up early tomorrow so I'm going to bed as early as I can."

"Same here. G'night man."

"Good night…wait a minute; don't you have guard duty tonight?"

Lubbock held up his gloved hand, which was actually his Teigu. "Cross Tail. Remember?"

"Oh." Tatsumi said plainly. He should have known: Lubbock would always have the whole perimeter of their base booby-trapped with Cross Tail'swires so if anyone tried to stealthily enter, they would unknowingly touch the wires that would alert Lubbock of any intruders. Then Night Raid would descend upon any Imperial sap who tried to get the drop on them.

Simple, but very effective.

"Well, don't let me stop you from getting some shut-eye." Tatsumi smirked as he went to his room.

"Hey, hold up a sec." He heard Lubbock say. Tatsumi turned around to see that Lubbock now had a lecherous grin on his face. "You know…the girls are gonna be exhausted after training tomorrow and there gonna want to unwind in the hot springs…maybe you and I could do little…'reconnaissance' on them?"

"And risk getting my face clawed off by Leone? No thanks."

"Oh please! I've seen how she attaches herself to you! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two have been dating!" Lubbock accused as he pointed his finger at Tatsumi.

"WHAT!? NO! Were just friends! She only does that to tease me!" Tatsumi desperately protested.

Lubbock rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Suuuuuuure." He drawled.

"Whatever. I'm going to bed." Tatsumi huffed as walked away.

"You sure you don't want to take up my offer? You don't know what you're missing~." Lubbock chimed.

"Oh, grow up!"

* * *

NIGHT RAID HEADQUARTERS-TATSUMI'S ROOM

Tatsumi laid on his bed, deep in thought. So much had happened in just a few weeks. His mind drifted back to when he first arrived at The Capital. He had never seen such an impressive city before in his life and he cursed his past self for being so naïve and oblivious to the terrible truth hiding behind it's shining exterior. He never should've trusted Aria. He knew that there was something suspicious about that girl but he was so desperate to earn money for his village that he didn't realize something was amiss until it was too late.

A twinge of guilt ran through his body. If he hadn't been attacked by those bandits he would've kept Sayo and Ieyasu safe. They could have arrived at The Capital together and maybe, by some stroke of luck, learn about the corruption plaguing it and join Night Raid. Instead, they got separated and he ended up in the care of a sadistic little bitch who murdered two of his closest friends and he didn't even know it. It was the biggest regret of his entire life.

But then…there was that strange dream he had a couple days ago.

" _You already found new friends, haven't you?"_

" _You can't rely on us forever you know!"_

Tatsumi slowly gripped his chest. His heart ached.

" _Later Tatsumi…"_

" _If there's a heaven, we'll see you there someday."_

' _Why? Why did they have to die? They didn't do anything wrong!'_ Tatsumi thought. His eyes drifted over to his drawer and he looked at the wood carved idol the village elder gave him before he left. How on earth was he going to break the news of Sayo and Ieyasu's deaths to his village? Would they all sympathize and comfort him for his loss or would they blame him for not protecting them? But he knew that his people would never do the latter and would understand the risks that came with leaving the village. But they would nonetheless be devastated and heartbroken.

He took his idol and looked at the small hole that Akame had made when they first met. He thought back to Ieyasu's previous words. He did find new friends that meant as much to him as Sayo and Ieyasu. He felt relieved that even though he didn't have a Teigu his teammates still cared for him. It made him feel at home.

Maybe the Teigu known as Spectator he got from Zanku was just a fluke. There were dozens of them out there and maybe he'd find one that would actually work. Then he'd would be able to hold his own against stronger opponents, protect his friends and-

" _There may be a Teigu that has the ability to bring dead people back to life! Right!?"_

Tatsumi smacked his forehead. Why did he have to remember that? It was one of the stupidest things he had ever said. He would never forget the stone cold looks on everyone's faces or their harsh words.

" _A Teigu that can resurrect the dead doesn't exist. In this world, you only get one life."_

" _Don't hang your hopes on that. If you do, an enemy will use that weakness of mind against you and you will be killed."_

He didn't mean to insult them. He just wanted his friends back so badly that he wasn't even thinking straight. He had to accept the facts: Sayo and Ieyasu were dead and they were never coming back.

" _I was happy. I thought that I could possibly bring them back. As long as there was even a small possibility, I still had hope…but…I knew it. I'll never see them again."_

Tatsumi let a small tear roll down his cheek and onto the idol. He felt himself about to cry again, but that's when another memory popped up in his head. One that instantly washed away all of the sadness he was feeling.

" _We'll keep this a secret from everyone else. It's okay to cry as much as you need."_

Sheele. If it weren't for her, he would've been a sad sack all week. The way she held him in her arms and comforted him…it was everything he needed to help him feel better. He could feel himself blush a little. He and Sheele had been close ever since that day with the two of them always maintaining a cheery air around each other, even during training. It wasn't love per say, just a very close friendship.

Tatsumi smiled and wiped the tears away from his eyes. This wasn't the time to be sad. This was the time to honor his fallen friend's memory by freeing the Empire from the corruption plaguing it and it was going to start with him training vigorously tomorrow.

"I won't let your deaths be in vain. I will save the Empire and I will get enough money for our village. That's a promise." Tatsumi swore, his voice rife with determination. With that in mind, he put his wooden carving back on the dresser, got under his covers and went to bed. That thing he thought about before blissfully falling asleep was eagerly looking forward to tomorrow.

But what Tatsumi, Night Raid or rest of The Empire didn't know, was that the winds of change were going to blow a colossal storm their way.

One that would change the course of history…forever.

To be continued…

* * *

 **Look forward to the next chapter because it's going to be a kick to the balls!**

 **Don't forget to review, but please don't flame!**


	2. Wakeup Call

**Wassup guys! Here's the second chapter to my story!**

 **I know I previously said that this was going to be frequently updated but I have been going through a lot the past couple weeks. The foundations of my house are under construction and a member of my family recently passed away. Not only that, but writing is really hard for me to do and life just keeps getting in the way.**

 **So from now on, my stories will be updated when I'm able to get to them. I hope you can all understand. But one thing I will ask is that you** _ **not**_ **nag me on when then they will update.**

 **But now I will answer your reviews that you have been leaving me!**

 **Dark Vizard447: It's always a pleasure to meet a Samurai Jack fan and the creators are actually bringing back the series this year! I'm glad that you like my story!**

 **Thaqif: Here are some answers to your questions.**

 **1\. You may have been mistaken; there were 8 Ultrabots in the cartoon. I've recently bumped up the number to 19 and each of them will have their own different weapons, in fact, some of them will have upgraded versions of the original weapons. Also, the AGKT weapons you recommended were hilarious!**

 **2\. You are definitely right about the Minions of Set being tougher, stronger and scarier than the Ultrabots, but I saw the Ultrabots episode first and they left a bigger impact on me. But don't worry; I'm planning on making a sequel to this story where the Minions of Set will be introduced!**

 **3\. The Ultrabots will be straight up villains in this story.**

 **4\. I understand that I'm "deconstructing the shounnen genre" and you're right about the latter explanation about the consequences you face no matter how good you are, but I cannot bring myself to kill Night Raid. Assassins or no, none of them deserved to die like they did. I'm still trying to get over the deaths of Sheele, Chelsea and Lubbock. Their deaths were just too sad and every one of them deserved better. The** _ **only**_ **exception I'll make are stories that take place after the anime but that's it.**

 **5\. I often found myself asking the same question regarding Bol's death. To be honest, the man didn't deserve to die. Yes, he was allied with the Empire and he immolated numerous innocent people but he truly and deeply regretted his actions and he had a wife and daughter who loved him. But don't even get me started on what Wild Hunt did to them. Seriously Takahiro, what the shit!?**

 **6\. You have some really intriguing ideas for crossovers but they don't exactly tickle my fancy. I think if you recommended them to other writers then they might pick them up!**

 **Red John: FINALLY someone agrees with me! While you are right about Mine and Tatsumi needing motivation, I still cared deeply for Sheele and Bulat. Also, you're right about Seryu: While I do hate and condemn her for killing Sheele and desecrating Chelsea's body, I couldn't help but pity her for choosing the wrong side. Schizophrenia aside, she truly was committed to the idea of justice but if she only learned about the corruption sooner then maybe she would have been a great help and don't worry; Wild Hunt will definitely get what's coming to them.**

 **Akame ga Kill and Samurai Jack belong to their respective owners, I do not own either of them.**

Chapter 2

Wakeup call

* * *

TATSUMI'S BEDROOM-5 HOURS LATER

 _ **BAAAAAAAAAAWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM**_

Tatsumi instantly jerked upward out of bed as a loud explosion rocked the whole base. He frantically looked around only to have another explosion assault his eardrums.

 _ **BRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMM**_

' _They sound close…is all of that coming from the Capital!?'_ He thought frantically.

 _ **KRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSHHHHH**_

That settled it. Tatsumi quickly put his clothes on, grabbed his sword and ran out into the hall where he was joined by Bulat.

"What the hell was that!?" Tatsumi asked as he and Bulat ran to the conference room.

"Beats me, bro! But I have a feeling we're gonna find out soon enough!" Bulat answered.

* * *

NIGHT RAID HEADQUARTERS-CONFERENCE ROOM

Just as Tatsumi and Bulat entered the conference room along with the rest of Night Raid, another explosion nearly knocked the group off their feet.

 _ **SSSHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

"Seriously! What the f*** is going on!?" Mine yelled.

"Sounds like the Revolutionary Army decided to invade the Capital early!" Leone said as she tried to keep her balance.

"That can't be! They're not ready yet and if even they were, they would've let us know first!" Akame corrected.

Najenda's mind was racing. Something was seriously wrong here. The explosions they were hearing were on a massive scale and she couldn't think of anyone else that could attack the Capital with this level of firepower. They needed to find out who was attacking right freaking now.

"We can all talk about that later! Let's get outside and see what going on!" Najenda shouted.

But before the team could even head outside, a massive tremor shook the entire hideout to its foundations.

 _ **RRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLL**_

The floor started to crack as the rumblings continued to get more and more violent until the roof suddenly caved in. Everyone quickly began dodging as many falling rocks as they could, but the floor started falling apart.

 _ **CRRRRAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKK**_

A large hole opened up beneath them and Night Raid found themselves plunging into the abyss. Akame began to fall in as well but Tatsumi, who was at the edge of the hole, quickly grabbed her by the hand in the nick of time.

"Hang on! I'll pull you up!"

"TATSUMI LOOK OUT!"

Before Tatsumi could react, a large boulder hit him in the back of the head, sending his world into darkness.

* * *

1 HOUR LATER

Pitch black.

That was all Tatsumi could see. It was also deathly quiet and he couldn't feel a thing. It was like floating in an infinite void of nothingness. He wondered…is this what death felt like? Was this really it? Was everything he did truly for nothing?

" _-mi!"_

What was that? He saw a small, bright light breaking through the darkness.

" _-sumi!"_

He heard a voice calling out to him. It sounded familiar…

" _Tatsumi, please wake up!"_

Akame?

Tatsumi struggled as hard as he could to open his eyes and when he finally did, he was greeted with the concerned faces of Akame, Lubbock, Leone, Sheele and Bulat. He noticed Sheele's Teigu was shining brightly.

"He's awake!" Sheele exclaimed.

"Thank god you're alive, bro!" Bulat said, relieved.

"Tatsumi, look at me. How many fingers am I holding up?" Lubbock asked as he held up 2 fingers, unaware Tatsumi was suffering from double vision. "8?" He answered. Lubbock looked at his fingers. "Eh, close enough." He shrugged.

 _BWACK_

"No its not, ya doofus." Leone snapped as she smacked Lubbock upside the head.

Tatsumi turned to his right to see Mine and Najenda hurriedly walking over to him.

"How are you feeling?" Najenda asked.

"I feel a little…light headed…" Tatsumi said and he tried to get up, only to visibly wince when he felt a sharp pain coming from the back of his head. "Try not to move too much, Akame says you took a nasty hit." Mine explained.

"It's a good thing your skull is so thick." Akame bluntly stated.

"Was that a compliment or an insult?" Tatsumi deadpanned.

"Uh…"

"Never mind." Tatsumi sighed. "Where are we anyway?"

Tatsumi looked around the illumined area to see that they in in a wide, cavernous space with huge piles of rocks and rubble all around them reaching as high as the ceiling, which seemed to go on forever. The ceiling itself had caved in and was blocked off with massive boulders.

"This the basement level of our headquarters. It's also our workshop." Bulat informed.

"This is where you guys were going to make me work if I refused to join!?" Tatsumi demanded as he remembered Najenda's words when he first met them.

Everyone looked incredibly guilty.

 _ **Rrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmbbbbbbllllllll**_

Night Raid was shaken out of its thoughts when another tremor shook the base. "You guys think it was an earthquake that hit the Capital?" Sheele guessed.

"No." Said Akame. "Those were definitely explosions."

Speaking of which, more explosions and other muffled sounds came from above.

 _ **Babooooooooooooom**_

 _ **Vwaaaaashooooooooooooooooooommm**_

 _ **Kaaablaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam**_

 _ **Brakka brakka brakka brakka brakka**_

 _ **Booooooooooooommmssssshhhhhh**_

"Holy crap. It sounds like the end of the world up there!" Lubbock commented, a tiny bit scared.

"Are we sure that isn't the Revolutionary Army?" Leone asked.

"Like Akame said, they aren't ready yet. They don't have enough firepower, manpower, or support to launch an attack on the Capital at this point. They would also let us know ahead of time if they ever decided to mount a final assault." Najenda explained.

"Then who is it?" Tatsumi inquired.

That was a good question. If it wasn't the Revolutionary Army, then who was attacking the Empire right now? Some third faction they didn't know about? If it was, then who could it possibly be?

"We can talk about that for another time. Our primary focus should getting out of here, but we need to hurry. All of us are in a tight, enclosed space and with breath each we take; we use up our remaining oxygen." Najenda said.

"Not only that, but our combined body heat is going to make this place as hot as a furnace." Bulat added.

"Then let's not dawdle any longer. It's going to take us a while to dig ourselves out so let's get to work." Najenda ordered.

* * *

NIGHTRAID WORKSHOP/BASEMENT- 4 DAYS LATER

For Night Raid, it was supposed to be simple. Clear away the debris, get topside and figure out what the hell was going on. In order to get out of the basement, they had to climb upon the mountains of rubble so they could get up to the hole in the ceiling and remove the boulders blocking the hole.

Unfortunately, things are never easy and it was proving to be very difficult.

For one thing, they had to be _extremely_ careful when climbing or moving the rocks. If they took out or stepped the wrong one then they would have an avalanche of boulders coming down right on top of them. So far that happened to them at least 12 times. Luckily for them, they were spared from being crushed to death by using their Teigus to catch, cut, or destroy any boulders that tried to fall on them.

But it didn't speed up the process, it was becoming painstakingly slow. The heat was starting to get to them and most of the team had to remove their clothing, leaving them clad in their undergarments. Lubbock would have been overjoyed at the sight of the Najenda and the other female members of Night Raid in their bras and undies but since the situation was dire he mostly kept it to himself.

Another problem they encountered was lack of oxygen and food. They could hear their stomachs constantly growling and they were short of breath most of the time. It would only be a matter of time before they either starved or suffocated to death.

But while they were climbing their way out, they could still hear the muffled sounds of more loud explosions and gunfire from outside. It was literally nonstop. At one point they heard a loud, high pitched scream but couldn't exactly figure out what could have made a noise like that. At one point there was a massive thunderclap so loud it shook the earth and threatened to burst their eardrums. The defining sounds of warfare went on and on and on until it finally stopped in the middle of the 3rd day. After that, there wasn't a single sound.

It was now day 4 and the end was almost in sight. They were almost out of the basement but most of them looked ready to collapse from sheer exhaustion.

"I…can….*huff*… barely breathe….." Leone wheezed.

"We can't…give up….we're so close…." Tatsumi gasped.

"We're almost….there. Just…try to hang…on…"Bulat said, sweating profusely.

 _CRASH_

Everyone suddenly looked upwards towards the ceiling. It sounded like it came from inside the base. Then they heard footsteps.

" _Over here! They must be trapped down there!"_ Came the voice of a girl.

" _Move aside! I'll clear away the debris!"_ Said another voice. This time, it belonged to a man.

"Who's…up there?" Mine asked.

"I don't know…but…nobody else knows about…this location. Only…we know." Najenda breathed.

They heard the sounds of someone moving away the rubble at a rapid pace. Little by little, they could see rays of light peeking through the rocks as they were moved away. Night Raid readied their weapons. They didn't know who was in their base or what they wanted from them but if whoever was digging them out were hostile, Night Raid wasn't going down without a fight. As last of the rocks were removed, the team saw who their rescuers were.

The first individual was a tall, blue haired man wearing white colored robes and had an odd looking mace slung over his back. The strangest thing about him was that he had cow-like horns on the sides of his head and there was a large, red orb on his chest.

The second person was a young, auburn haired girl sucking on a lollipop. She wore vocalist-like clothing, earmuffs and she had what appeared to be a cosmetics box hanging off her waist.

"Chelsea!? Susanoo!?" Najenda exclaimed.

"Master! Thank god you're okay!" The man known as Susanoo said.

"Glad to see you and the others are still amongst the living! Wait…why are you all in yours skivvies?" The girl who was named Chelsea asked.

"It's hot as hell! You try spending 4 days down here!" Leone barked.

"Well on the upside the sweat makes look really sexy." Chelsea joked.

"You have no frickin idea." Lubbock silently muttered.

* * *

NIGHT RAID HEADQUARTERS-CONFERENCE ROOM

Susanoo and Chelsea wasted no time as they helped everyone out of the hole. After they were out, Night Raid flopped onto the floor greedily breathing in large amounts of air.

"Thank goodness…I thought I was going to suffocate!" Sheele gasped.

"I think my life just flashed before my eyes…" Tatsumi groaned.

"Thanks for helping us out. I don't think we would've lasted for another day down there." Mine thanked.

"We're lucky we managed to get to you in time. It's good to see you all again after so long." Susanoo said as he helped Bulat up.

"Hahahaha! It's great to see you again as well, old friend! You haven't changed one bit!" Bulat laughed as he pulled Susanoo into a hug.

"Indeed. But you seemed to have changed your hairstyle while I was gone." Susanoo pointed out.

"You noticed? I thought I would go with one that best suited my personality." Bulat said passionately while striking a pose. Susanoo sweatdropped.

While that was going on, Chelsea got reacquainted with Mine, Sheele, Najenda and Leone. "Looks like you guys really got the short end of the stick this time, huh?" Chelsea said, grinning mischievously.

"You can say that again." Najenda chuckled. "Not to sound mean, but why are you guys here? You're supposed to be at the Revolutionary Army headquarters until the both of you are relived."

"Mr. Su sensed that you were in danger and naturally he couldn't sit still so he dragged me along back to the Empire to help" Chelsea revealed. "Normally we would use an Air Manta to get here quicker but since the Revolutionary Army was using most them for a mission, we had to make due with horses."

"Overprotective as usual." Najenda sighed, smiling.

"But enough about that, how ya been Chel?" Leone said as she walked over to Chelsea, only for the girl to immediately step away from her. "As much as I like you guys, I'm not going anywhere near you because you all _reek_."

Leone sniffed her armpit and her nose instantly wrinkled. "Yikes! I'm gonna need a shower!"

"I think we're all due for a shower." Sheele stated matter-of-factly.

"Same here." Mine said as she turned her head to the massive hole in the floor. "That had got to be one of the worst experiences of my life."

"Which part? Being stuck down there or the fact that your breasts haven't grown in yet?" Chelsea asked evilly.

"WHAT!?" Mine snarled as she whipped out Pumpkin. But before she could put several holes into her currently snickering antagonist, Lubbock quickly injected before the ensuing melee could begin.

"Um, I hate to interrupt you girls but Akame is really not looking too good." Lubbock said as he pointed over his shoulder. That immediately got everyone's attention. They all looked towards Akame who was slumped against a pillar, looking incredibly pale. Tatsumi was at her side, trying to help her up.

"Akame! Speak to me! Are you okay!?"

"So…hungry…need…sustenance…" She croaked. An audible gurgling sound emanated from her stomach to emphasize her point. That's when everyone's stomachs (except for Susanoo and Chelsea) began grumbling loudly. But it wasn't the regular kind of grumbling that reminded you that you forgot to eat lunch. This was the painful kind of grumbling to remind you that you hadn't eaten in _4 days_.

"I can tell that most of you are close to starvation." Susanoo observed. He suddenly pulled a cooking apron out of nowhere and began to hastily put it on. "I will prepare a large meal for you all so that you may regain your strength. In the meantime, I highly suggest you take this time to thoroughly bathe."

" _Please_." Chelsea begged while holding her nose.

* * *

NIGHT RAID HEADQUARTERS-DINING ROOM

While Susanoo busied himself in the kitchen (with Chelsea helping) the rest of Night Raid spent 1 hour in the washrooms to clean themselves up, making sure they completely washed the smell of B.O off their bodies while using up most of the shampoo in the process.

After they were done and had gotten their clothes on, they went to the kitchen where Susanoo had made a full course all you can eat buffet with more than enough food to feed roughly 30 people. Since it was more than enough for the 8 of them, they dove into the banquet like a pack of rabid animals. Pretty soon the sounds of food being viciously scarfed down filled as Night Raid ate and drank themselves into oblivion…not actual oblivion but anything to quell the rumbling in their stomachs.

Chelsea and Susanoo stared at the ensuing massacre of cuisine with mortified looks on their faces. While Chelsea could understand that they were stuck in a hole for 4 days without eating anything, they probably should've taken their little feasting spree down a couple notches.

Susanoo understood the same thing as well. While he was happy that they were enjoying the feast he made for them, it discouraged him to see them completely abandon all of their table manners. He was mildly shocked to see his master Najenda wolfing down her food. He knew she had better manners than that!

"Look on the bright side. At least they're enjoying your food." Chelsea said, dodging a discarded chicken bone that flew from the table.

"It's a pity that they're not taking their time to _properly_ eat it." Susanoo grumbled as he rubbed his temples.

After several minuets there wasn't a single scrap of food left and Night Raid was left full and very satisfied.

"*BURP* Ahhhhh….I've never felt so alive!" Leone sighed.

"Susanoo…I am forever in your debt." Akame thanked.

"Same here. Starving to death is not a pretty way to go." Lubbock added.

"Think nothing of it. I cooked all the time back at the Revolutionary Army headquarters." Susanoo assured them. Tatsumi looked at Chelsea and Susanoo with curiosity. Were they with Night Raid too? If they were, then why didn't his friends mention them?

"So when are you guys going to introduce the two of us to your new friend?" Chelsea asked while eyeing the brown haired young man. "Looks like you picked up a real cutie, Leone."

"Thanks! Bulat's been taking a really big liking to him if you get my meaning." Leone snickered as she winked towards the Hundred Man Slayer.

"You know…" Bulat began.

"Chelsea's right." Najenda interjected. "Tatsumi, I would like to introduce you to two of our other senior members: Chelsea, our stealth and reconnaissance expert, and Susanoo, my Teigu."

"Oh! It's a real pleasure to meet the both of you!" Tatsumi said as got up from the table and held out his hand towards Susanoo. However, he was met with the horned man's steely glare. Tatsumi was taken back a bit. "Is there something wrong?"

"Your fly is down! Its bothering me, so please close it!" Susanoo said loudly.

No one said a word. Tatsumi, with a look of shock and embarrassment on his face, slowly looked down to see that the man right. Without saying a word, Tatsumi zipped up his pants…and the whole room exploded into laughter.

"Way to leave a first impression Tatsumi!" Leone laughed.

"Honestly! Someone with a brain would notice!" Mine giggled.

"Actually, Akame and I noticed it at first but we thought it was a new fashion statement." Sheele said innocently.

"I'm not someone that free and open!" Tatsumi shouted in protest.

"There's no shame in being free and open, bro." Bulat said, his body literally sparkling.

"From now on I'll be more careful and take a look now and then." Akame said as she looked at Tatsumi's pants.

"PLEASE DON'T!" He exasperated.

"Your first time meeting a humanoid Teigu and your fly was down. I bet this will be some story to tell your grandkids, huh?" Lubbock joked as he jabbed Tatsumi's shoulder.

"Lubbock I swear to god I'll-"But then Tatsumi stopped himself in midsentence. Did he just say humanoid Teigu? Didn't Najenda mention earlier that he was her Teigu? He turned towards Susanoo and looked at him. The cow horns and the red orb on his chest now made it abundantly clear that this man was not human.

"You're really a Teigu?" Tatsumi asked in astonishment.

"That is correct." Susanoo said as shook Tatsumi's hand." I have been at my master's side since she first joined the Revolutionary Army. My core was originally in a dormant state after the passing of my previous master but Ms. Najenda was the one to reawaken me."

"You could say that it was my charisma that brought him out of it." Najenda said coolly.

"Actually, the real reason was because you reminded me of my former master. He was such a courageous man…" Susanoo corrected as he reminisced about the good old times with his late master.

"Yeah. That too." Najenda muttered. "Anyway, not only is Susanoo an exceptionally powerful combatant but he was originally created to escort important people. Along with his battle ability, he's fully equipped to with the skill to do various household chores so he can be useful around the clock. Cleaning, laundry, whatever it may be! The repertoire of food he can cook literally numbers in the thousands!"

"Wow! You know, I always thought your prosthetic arm was a Teigu." Tatsumi guessed. Everyone visibly tensed up. Najenda's arm had always been sort of a touchy, if not toxic, subject for her. Surprisingly, she let out a small chuckle. "Don't I wish." She said, smiling.

"Huh. I kinda expected the boss to go ballistic there for bit. Looks like you been here long enough to get on her good side!" Akame said cheerfully.

Tatsumi raised an eyebrow to that. Was that really Akame? Granted, she showed him that she could be happy at times but she sounded a little bit _too_ happy. He turned towards where Akame was sitting…to see that there was _another one sitting right next to her._

Tatsumi flipped.

"EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH!? T-T-T-T-T-T-TWO AKAMES!? WHAT THE HELL!?"

 _POOF_

There was a sudden puff of smoke and one of the Akames transformed into Chelsea! "Gotcha~!" She sang playfully. "You should've seen the look on your face! I did the same thing to Lubbock when I first joined!"

"Oh jeez, you had to bring _that_ up." Lubbock said as he cringed at the memory. Instead of imitating one of the girls, she imitated Bulat. You can pretty much guess how that went.

"That was…amazing!" Tatsumi breathed. "You completed copied her voice, her looks, everything!"

Chelsea smiled brightly. Whenever someone praised her Teigu's ability it made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. "That's all thanks to this little beauty right here!" She said as she set her cosmetics box on the table. "This is the Teigu know as Phantasmagoria: Gaea Foundation. It allows me to transform into any person as well as any living creature in the world!"

"Anyone?" Tatsumi asked.

"Anyone and anything. Because of my Teigu, I excelled in covert and undercover assassinations. I could be your maid that served you your tea or a harmless blue jay sitting on your windowsill but either way…" She explained as she held up a deadly looking sewing needle. "You'd never see it coming."

Tatsumi was impressed when he heard that. His curiosity grew when he thought about the other possibilities Gaea Foundation might have. "When you say any living creature, do mean Danger Beasts as well?"

Chelsea pondered for a moment. "Well…I can. But I didn't like it at first to be honest. Having to transform into those grotesque looking things makes my flesh crawl. But lately Mr. Su has been advising me that I take a more offensive role if things get hairy. So yes, I can transform into a number of Danger Beasts even though it's not really my thing. Also, I have to get used to using these in case I'm in a pinch." Chelsea explained as she pulled out several kunai.

"Pffft. Sounds like you should've learned how to do all that before you joined." Mine teased.

"Not going to lie, you're pretty much right about that." Chelsea acknowledged.

Tatsumi wished he met these two earlier. They seemed like such interesting people with amazing abilities. But that's when he remembered something. "Say Leone, you said that you knew everyone here like the back of your hand. Why didn't you mention Chelsea and Susanoo?"

All eyes turned towards Leone, expecting an answer. The blonde had a look realization and embarrassment on her face. "Uhhh…..hahaha….i guess it just kinda slipped my mind…" She replied nervously. Everybody groaned.

"Seriously? After everything we've been through?" Chelsea demanded.

"I'm quite disappointed in you, Leone." Susanoo admonished.

"Sorry." She apologized as he rubbed the back of her head.

"So why were you two at Revolutionary HQ instead of here?" Tatsumi inquired.

"We were actually with Night Raid for a very long time but we got a message from the Revolutionary Army that they were shorthanded and needed some extra help." Chelsea explained.

"We were stationed at their headquarters in the south for about 4 months but when I sensed that my master was in peril, we quickly set off back to Night Raid. I was most fortuitous that my comrade Chelsea volunteered-"

"Dragged." Chelsea corrected.

" _Volunteered_ to assist me." Susanoo finished.

Unbeknownst to everyone, the gears in Sheele's airheaded mind suddenly shifted into overdrive until something clicked. "Wait a minute!" Sheele suddenly exclaimed as she shot out of her seat. "If you two came here then you must have seen what's been going on at The Capital!"

That's when everybody suddenly realized that they had forgotten all about the battle that had ensued at The Capital while they were trapped in the deepest part of their headquarters. "Oh crap, she's right! How could we have been so forgetful!?" Najenda cursed.

"Join the club." Leone quipped.

"Do you guys know what's been going on? The two of you surely have to know!" Bulat pressed. What happened next surprised Night Raid. Chelsea and Susanoo looked down at the floor, their faces had darkened considerably. Chelsea looked visibly scared, as if she had remembered a deep seated trauma. Susanoo had an extremely grim, worried look on his face and it took _a lot_ to make him look like that.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Akame asked, noticeably concerned for her comrades.

Chelsea and Susanoo looked at each other, unsure of how to answer. Susanoo decided to speak up. "We…think its best if we show you. But we warn you: you're not going to like what you see."

* * *

NIGHT RAID HEADQUARTERS-EXTERIOR

After they got themselves ready, Night Raid walked outside and saw that the cliff their base was situated under had completely collapsed. It caved into the roof, destroying the upper half of their base and scattering numerous rock and debris all over the area. But that wasn't the only thing that caught their eyes. They saw a massive column of smoke rising into the gray, afternoon clouds. What surprised them the most was that it was coming from The Capital. That was definitely not a good sign.

"Is that coming from-"Tatsumi asked only to be interrupted by Chelsea.

"Yup. You can see it all the way from Revolutionary HQ." She informed. Everyone looked at each other with confusion, bewilderment and fear. They all rushed into the woods as fast as they could while Chelsea and Susanoo merely walked after them. They had to know what was going on. None of this made any sense, what the hell was happening!?

After running through the woods for several minutes, they approached a clearing that led to a nearby cliff overlooking the Capital. They picked up the pace, entered the clearing, ran to the overlook…

and they all gasped in shock.

 _(Samurai Jack Soundtrack-Episode 18 destroyed village theme)_

The Capital had been utterly _annihilated_.

The walls that had surrounded The Capital had been blown to pieces by repeated explosions. Numerous craters dotted the land, a majority of them in densely housed areas. Patches of fire consumed buildings in the eastern, western, southern, and northern districts. Storefronts and houses were reduced to ashes. The imperial palace and been completely decimated, the castle and the mansions of the nobles destroyed and set ablaze. The smell of burning wood and carrion permeated the air.

Night Raid couldn't believe what they were seeing. They all stared at the horrific sight that assaulted their eyes. The sheer amount of devastation they were looking at was absolutely jaw dropping.

An entire Empire that they swore to liberate, one that stood for over 1000 years, had been completely destroyed. All 200,000 square kilometers. Chelsea and Susanoo soon showed up, taking in the terrible sight as well, albeit very calmly.

For a very long time, nobody said a word. Najenda was the first one to break the silence; she slowly turned her head and looked at Susanoo with a look of shock and mortification on her face. "What the f*** happened!?" She breathed gravely.

Susanoo shook his head. "We don't know."

To be continued…

* * *

 **Looks like someone didn't like the Empire! Will Night Raid find any survivors amongst the ashes?**

 **This chapter was really fun to write because in this universe, Chelsea and Susanoo joined Night Raid way before Tatsumi did so the two of them got a little friendly reunion with the rest of the team and got to introduce themselves to the newest member.**

 **Also, I tweaked Chelsea's abilities a bit so she can engage in more direct combat instead of her usual stealthy approach.**

 **One special thing I should mention is that I don't want to introduce the Ultrabots** _ **yet**_ **. Like in the cartoon, I want them to be this unseen, enigmatic force that the main cast has no idea who they are or what they're up against. I want to go for a very suspenseful sort of path for this story.**

 **Don't forget to review, but please don't flame!**


	3. Ashes of the Capital

**What's up ladies and gentlemen? The third chapter is up and running!**

 **While making this chapter, I found out that making them shorter (4000 words or less) actually makes typing my stories a lot easier for me. But that doesn't mean that they will be frequently updated.**

 **In this chapter, I wanted to explore the different parts of the Capital and I'm going to add in my own interpretation of some places and people in Akame ga Kill, most namely the eastern continent. It will play a big role in the sequel.**

 **One other fun fact is that I will be adding a lot of music from the Resident Evil series to invoke a sense of isolation and mystery.**

 **Review time!**

 **Dark Vizard447: You'll find out soon enough!**

 **Thaqif: I'm glad to hear that we both share the same interests, that being sci-fi meets fantasy, and that you enjoy my story so much. But if you really want to read a good sci-fi/fantasy story, you should definitely check out the GATE series. That manga is awesome!**

 **Also, you're right. It was really dickish of me not to review your ideas and I deeply apologize for that. I've read them and I must say, all of your suggestions are great and I love the Warhammer, Team Fortress, X-com and Overwatch crossovers. In fact, some of them have actually given me some ideas on future stories! My personal favorite is the Bloodborne and Madness Combat suggestions!**

 **I wasn't actually planning on any fanservice moments in this story; the whole bit underground was just a spur of the moment for me.**

 **DestinyTX: The Ultrabot's adamantium armor will be a key problem for the main cast in this story.**

 **Mythfan: Thanks for the support! It will be tough but I'll find a way to make it work.**

 **Akame ga Kill and Samurai Jack belong to their respective owners, I do not own either of them.**

* * *

Chapter 3

Ashes of the Capital

THE CAPITAL-FRONT GATES

 _(Resident Evil 3 soundtrack-save room theme loop)_

After Night Raid had gotten over the initial shock, they quickly went down to the front gates that led into the Capital. When they went through, same feeling of horror they saw from afar was now 100 times worse up close. Numerous building were destroyed, set ablaze or reduced to rubble. The bodies of countless citizens and imperial soldiers lied still in the ash strewn streets with many of them covered in wounds. Some were immolated, eviscerated, bifurcated, riddled with bullets or suffered other fatal injuries. It was a horrific sight; there was nothing but utter devastation as far as the eye could see.

"Holy shit…"Leone gasped.

"This is horrible…" Sheele whispered.

"I can't believe it. Everything…it's all gone…" Tatsumi said in disbelief. It truly was very hard to believe. He had been around the Empire for a while now and he could remember some landmarks but now everything was completely unrecognizable.

"B-b-but this doesn't make any sense! There's no way an entire kingdom can be destroyed in just 3 ½ days! It's impossible!" Mine exasperated.

"Well, something must've happened here because there's just _nothing_ left." Lubbock said, surveying the carnage before him.

Everyone else felt terrible. While it was true that the Empire had become a festering tumor that had to be removed, they would never wish this kind of death and destruction upon it. Bulat turned towards Najenda with the intention of asking her what their next move was. "Boss, what should we-"

"Shut up. Just shut up, I'm thinking!" She snapped. Everyone stayed quiet. The only time Najenda ever got mad was when a mission didn't go right (that rarely ever happened). They could only image the inner turmoil that was going through her head.

"Okay." She finally said, composing herself. "We need to search for survivors, clues, anything that can help us figure out what the hell happened here. We'll split up and scour the 4 districts to cover more ground and find some answers. Chelsea and I will take the north. Bulat, Leone and Susanoo will take the south. Sheele and Lubbock will take the east and Akame, Tatsumi and Mine will take the west. All of us will report back here in 6 hours and we'll relay what we found. Now let's get to it."

* * *

THE CAPITAL-SOUTHERN DISTRICT

The others left for their assigned districts leaving behind Leone, Bulat, and Susanoo to carry out the grim task of ascertaining what transpired in the Empire. The trio scoured the southern district but they began to doubt that they would find anything amongst the ruins. It was the same thing: destroyed buildings and bodies everywhere. While Bulat and Susanoo searched in different directions, Leone went off on her own to search for something more important.

Her neighborhood just so happened to be located in the southern slums, the poorest part of the Capital. She already knew what she was probably going to find but she still had to see. As she ran down the street she stopped and looked to her right.

It was her favorite bar. After every successful mission she would always come to this bar and have drinking contests with her friends, swap some tales with whoever was listening and gamble. However, what made this bar special was that this was when she first saw Tatsumi and later swindled him after he got rejected by the Imperial Police. Now it was utterly demolished with several dead bodies inside. ' _Damn it all…_ ' She thought. She continued on her path and after several minutes, she arrived in her neighborhood.

Her heart sunk.

It was gone. There was nothing but smoldering ashes and the bodies of the deceased scattered everywhere. Leone fell to her knees. She grew up in this part of the Empire. She remembered all the friends she made, all the people she helped and all the other people she owed money to. Now…it had all been taken away from her and she had been powerless to save it. Her neighborhood had been reduced to a burnt out husk and everyone she knew was most likely dead.

For the first time in her life, Leone felt utter defeat. She could have saved them. If they had gotten themselves free sooner then they could've had more time to save the civilians. If they were just faster then-

That's when Leone could feel tears running down her cheek. Was she crying? When was the last time she actually cried? She was temped at first to stop but as the sheer weight of everything became clear to her, she let the tears fall. For a while she just sat there, silently sobbing.

Then a shadow fell over her and she turned around to see that it was Bulat. The man had a sad, sympathetic look on his face as he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Leone felt a little bit better knowing that her friends would be there to support her. After composing herself, she got up and joined Bulat to explore other areas and hopefully find any survivors.

But one thing was for sure: If she ever found out who was responsible for this massacre…she was going to tear their throats out.

Meanwhile, Susanoo continued to search the southern district after his companion had gone off to see if Leone was okay. So far, there were no civilians that had survived this unprovoked attack and the trail was completely cold. That is until he saw something strange. He noticed multiple footprints on the ground but then there was some that didn't look natural. They looked too blocky and rectangular. He cupped his chin in thought.

"Ugh…." Came a voice.

Susanoo quickly turned his head around to see something moving around in the remains of a building. Then he saw a hand come into view that seemed to twitch a little. It was a survivor! He rushed over and began moving away the rubble to get rescue whoever was under there.

As he cleared away more debris, he could make out a man in his mid-30's who appeared to be in a lot of pain. When he got all of the rubble off him, Susanoo could see a huge open gash in his chest. He checked the man's pulse. It was very weak and he had lost a lot of blood. This man would not live for long so the best thing Susanoo could do was hold the man's hand and ease his passing.

"R….re….red…."The man rasped. Susanoo raised an eyebrow. Was he trying to tell him something? He leaned in close so he could hear better.

"Burning…..red…..eyes…." The man croaked. He then died in front of Susanoo. The man's warning greatly troubled him. First it was odd footprints and then "burning red eyes". It wasn't much to go on but at least they were clues. But it still didn't answer the big question on his mind: who was responsible for this and why did they annihilate the entire Empire? He set the body of the man down and went off to find Bulat and Leone to inform them of his findings.

* * *

THE CAPITAL-EASTERN DISTRICT

Sheele walked through the empty streets of the decimated eastern district. She had gotten used to seeing death throughout her life but this was on a whole new level. It was the same thing everywhere she looked: demolished, burning buildings and the bodies of dead men, women and children.

It felt so strange…they dedicated their lives to overthrow the Empire and now it was in ruins. A part of her should feel happy that their mission was over but then why did she feel so empty? Looking around, she knew the reason why. So many citizens and been suffering under Honest's tyrannical rule and all of them had reached out to Night Raid for help. Now they were all probably dead.

She continued walking until she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her heart began beating loudly. She began to shake. There at the end of the street was her friend's home…or what was left of it.

She hadn't been to that house ever since she killed her friend's homicidal ex-boyfriend. She could actually feel the butcher knife in her hands as she looked at the remains of her friend's home. Her friend had been deathly afraid of her after the incident and the two of them never met again. She never thought much of her afterwards but now she genuinely felt extremely concerned for her former friend's well-being.

"Xian-Li…" Sheele whispered to herself.

She hurriedly walked over to the house hand began to search though the remains. So far, there was no body to be seen. This gave Sheele some hope that Xian-Li might be alive. She eventually decided that she had lingered long enough in this area and went off to search for Lubbock who was exploring another part of the southern district.

Lubbock had been exploring several destroyed buildings for any leads or clues but so far he couldn't find jack-shit. He couldn't help but feel unnerved as he went through the decimated city. It was as quiet as a graveyard…which was ironic since the Capital had been turned into one.

He came to an intersection and was greeted with a gruesome, yet troubling sight. Scattered all around were patches of ice, several imperial soldiers impaled on numerous stalagmites while others were frozen solid.

Lubbock continued to stare at the sickening display when he saw Sheele rounding the corner. "Lubbock! Did you find anything?" She asked.

"Oh, you bet I did."

He pointed over to the ice covered intersection and Sheele's eyes widened. They cautiously walked over and began to investigate. Actually, Lubbock did all the investigating since Sheele kept slipping on all of the patches of ice. He inspected an icy stalagmite that had impaled an unfortunate soldier. He carefully touched it with his index finger only to suddenly hiss in pain and yank his hand back.

"Dry ice. Its definitely dry ice." He conformed.

The two of them began to think. What could have possibly summoned this much ice? Then a chilling thought came to their heads. One that was infinitesimal, yet frighteningly likely. They slowly began to look at each other with growing horror in their eyes.

"Lubbock….do you think _she_ betrayed the Empire?"

* * *

THE CAPITAL-WESTERN DISTRICT

"What on earth could've done this?" Tatsumi asked as he scoured the ruins of the western district. "Beats the hell out of me." Mine retorted. "But I'm starting to think that whoever did this must've been a freaking monster."

Akame stayed silent as Tatsumi and Mine continued to talk to each other. She walked amongst the destroyed storefronts and houses while deep in thought. Who really was responsible for this? There was absolutely no way this could've been the work of a Danger Beast. She couldn't think of anyone else the Empire had made an enemy of. She began to inspect the damage done to the buildings as well as the bodies under the rubble.

Many of them had been cut clean by some kind of bladed weapon while some were obviously burned to death. The first part of her observation confused her, however. The only weapon that could cleanly cut through anything that she knew of was Sheele's Teigu, Extase. But she was with them the entire time they were trapped so Akame could safely rule her out. As she continued her observation, she came to the conclusion that whoever did this to the Empire obviously had help.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Someone said. Akame turned around to see Mine. She regarded the pink haired girl for a moment before looking towards at the ruins. "For the entire Empire to be destroyed this quickly…it all feels so strange." She sighed.

"More like messed up. We swore an oath that we would wipe out the corruption and all the scumbags in this place and then someone or some _thing_ did our job for us." Mine scoffed.

"But the real question is why did they target most of the citizens here? It's like they wanted everyone dead." Akame wondered.

"Maybe they didn't want witnesses?" Mine guessed.

Akame stayed silent for a few seconds. "Perhaps…but we'll probably never know if can't find any survivors."

"Tatsumi's currently looking to see if there anybody left. We should go help-"

"WAAAAHHH!"

Akame and Mine instantly whipped their heads around just in time to see Tatsumi fall out of sight. They quickly rushed over to where he was a second ago and saw a large hole in the ground. The two of them looked down the hole and saw Tatsumi picking himself up.

"Are you okay?" Mine asked.

"Yeah, just peachy." Tatsumi replied as he dusted himself off. Mine and Akame jumped down the hole to investigate and were awestruck by what they saw. They saw numerous tunnels throughout the cavern that most likely spread out to the entire Capital. It was like something dug its way underneath the streets…but with what? As they looked closer, the noticed several cracks all over the hollowed out tunnel. Upon further investigation, they found out that whatever did this had actually burrowed through _pure bedrock._

Suddenly, a deep rumbling shook the tunnel, nearly knocking the trio off their feet. They quickly managed to limb out of the hole just in time to see the entire street completely collapse in on itself. Then they heard rumbling out in the distance and saw multiple buildings sink into the earth.

"I think it's safe to say we know what caused those earthquakes 4 days ago." Tatsumi said.

* * *

THE CAPITAL-NORTHERN DISTRICT

Najenda and Chelsea turned their heads towards the deep rumbling out in the distance. "Sound like the entire Empire is falling apart." Chelsea mused.

" _Everything_ is falling apart! None of this makes any goddamn sense!" Najenda shouted. She sat herself down on a nearby bench and began to run her fingers through her hair in frustration.

Chelsea wasn't really sure what to say to make Najenda a little less frayed. "Um…look I'm sure well be able to find something that can give us some insight as to what happened." She assured her.

"You mean _if_ we find something. I still can't believe all of this happened in just 3 ½ days." Najenda grumbled.

"Neither can I. Whoever did this must have come up with a pretty good strategy to cause this much chaos." Chelsea said.

"There's no way this could've been planned in just a couple of days. This was probably in the works for decades. Whoever did this must've known the Empires weak points, defenses, Teigu's, soldiers and anything else that could have given them and strategic advantage." Najenda deduced.

"But who? The only force we know of that's against the Empire is the Revolutionary army and nobody else! The tribes and villages around the region certainly don't have enough manpower and the eastern nation is all the way across the ocean. Not to mention that the nation is a non-violent one at that so it's virtually impossible they would attempt something like this." Chelsea explained.

' _She has point.'_ Najenda thought. _'The eastern nation of Zandrasil used to be allied with the Empire but when Honest began to manipulate Emperor Makoto and corrupted the Empire inside and out, they withdrew all known relations. They have been supporting the rebellion so far but it's only been political support and the nation itself detests violence.'_

"You're right. If the Revolutionary Army or anyone else wasn't responsible for this…then this means we got new players in town."

* * *

SOUTHERN DISTRICT-6 HOURS LATER

After many hours of searching, the rest of Night Raid gathered in the southern district of the Capital, where their mission began to report on their findings. Most of the team did not look hopeful and they were all emotionally drained from today's events.

"Okay, did we find anyone alive?" Najenda began.

Susanoo started first. "I came across one survivor but he died in my arms. There was nothing that I could do to save him."

Najenda's lips thinned. "Has anybody else here found any other survivors? Chelsea and I had no luck in the northern district."

The rest of the team began to inform Najenda that they found nobody else, just dead bodies. The situation was turning more and more grim. Everyone stayed silent after they were done with their reports as it began to dawn upon them that every living soul might be dead.

Tatsumi began to fear the worst. "Does this mean that everyone's-"

"I wouldn't say that just yet." Bulat interrupted. "When we first arrived at the front gates hours ago, I noticed that there were a lot of footprints leading away from the Capital. There's a possibility that a handful of people managed to escape."

That gave the team some form of hope. It was good to know that there were citizens who managed to survive whatever the hell happened here.

"Well that's a relief." Najenda sighed. "Now let's get down to brass tacks. Did any of you happen to find some clues? Maybe some leads or theories?"

Sheele raised her hand. "Me and Lubbock found an entire intersection covered in dry ice. The whole place was frozen solid and there were numerous dead Imperial police officers, most likely killed by whatever summoned that ice."

"I know this may sound a little crazy to you guys, but hear me out." Lubbock informed, his tone of voice turning dead serious. "We know only one person that can manipulate ice and use it as a deadly weapon. You all know who I'm talking about."

Night Raid began to wonder who exactly he was talking about but then their eyes began to widen in realization and their mouths hung open. The only one who didn't react was Najenda.

"A-a-are you saying t-that-"Mine stammered.

"Yes. There's a very high chance that Esdeath has turned against the Empire." Lubbock conformed.

Night Raid was too stunned to say anything. The Empire's strongest defecting? The ice queen herself? Impossible! All known attempts to get her to side with the Revolutionary Army were met with a violent, and often bloody, refusal. But if she would never side with the rebellion then why did she attack the Empire?

"Esdeath didn't do this."

Everyone turned towards Najenda who had lit up a cigar and was deep in thought. "Esdeath is fiercely loyal to the Empire because they give her what she most desires: conflict and bloodshed. If she really wanted to go against the Empire then she would've joined the Revolutionary Army a long time ago and Honest's head would already be on a pike."

She did bring up a valid point. The odds of Esdeath turning against the Empire were astronomical.

"Has anyone else found anything else?"

The rest of the team revealed their findings to Najenda. The dying survivor's warning, the tunnels they found in the western district, odd footprints and numerous wounds on the corpses that they couldn't identify.

"I see. They're not much to go by but I think I have an idea what were up against. This is just an educated guess, but the ones responsible for all this were most likely a group of highly skilled Teigu users." Najenda concluded

Everyone didn't know what to say after that but it did make some sense. Only a Teigu was capable of causing this much death and destruction. "If what you are saying is true then the people who did this are in possession of extremely powerful Teigus." Akame pointed out.

"Looks like Prime Minister Fatty pissed off the wrong people." Leone said flatly.

"But _who_ did he piss off is the real question we all want to know." Chelsea reminded. Najenda sighed as she put out her cigar. "We're going to have to find more clues to get our answer."

"But we've searched everywhere. I doubt we'll be able to find anything else." Tatsumi said.

"Actually bro, there's one place we haven't checked out yet." Bulat told Tatsumi as he pointed behind the group. Everyone turned around and they all knew what he was talking about.

The decimated remains of the imperial palace.

To be continued…

* * *

 **What answers will Night Raid find when they venture into the dark heart of the Empire? Find out next time!**

 **Fun Fact: It only took 2 to 3 Ultrabots to wipe out a village in the original cartoon. There are 19 of them now and they managed to eradicate an entire empire.** _ **Let that sink in for a while…**_

 **The names of the eastern continent and Sheele's friend were my ideas. Also, I wanted this chapter to affect Leone and Sheele the most because I think they had a deeper connection to the citizens in the Capital.**

 **Don't forget to review, but please don't flame!**


	4. Heart of the Empire

**What's shakin folks?**

 **Long update, I know. A lot of thing going on in my life like studying for my driver's test.**

 **Review time!**

 **SulliMike23: That pretty much sums up the next chapter!**

 **Thaqif: Really like your scenario! It really amped up the fear factor! Also, you're right about the Emperor. If you refer to my explanation of the story in my first chapter I did state that the Jeagers were already formed at an earlier point in the series.**

 **You do bring up very good points about most of the unexplained elements in Akame ga Kill**

 **1\. I really think Numa was a very proficient spearman who would do anything to protect his people. He didn't really strike me an egotist. As for the whole insanity thing, he was WAY out of his league against Esdeath.**

 **2\. I think Seryu's father was a good man committed to justice and Seryu is afraid if she strays from it, she might be disgracing her father's memory and Ogre warped her thinking.**

 **3\. I honestly don't know why he wears that mask. How does he not scare his wife and child? Im planning on looking into that.**

 **4\. I think it's safe to say he was evil the moment he was born.**

 **5\. I speak for all of us when I say were better off not knowing who or how.**

 **6\. It's obvious that Esdeath has more battle experience than him.**

 **7\. Yeah, who was that? A steroid abuser? A super soldier reject? Some random bodybuilder Esdeath recruited on a whim? That guy could've had a lot of potential but was unfortunately regulated to "Background Mook."**

 **8\. Honestly, I think they're just a part of the world and everyone just runs with it.**

 **Guest #1: You're right, but that remains to be seen.**

 **VentXekart: Down low! Glad to surprise you!**

 **VIP: It actually is necessary because it shows that this is an AU of Akame ga Kill and a reminder of what Tatsumi is fighting for. It also shows how a simple, ordinary day can suddenly go total f***ing shitstorm the next day.**

 **Junior VB and Guest #2 : Muchas gracias!**

 **Guest #3: You have some interesting ideas there! Regarding your question about Seryu, I'm thinking about it.**

 **Akame ga Kill and Samurai Jack belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Heart of the Empire

THE CAPITAL-NOBILITY DISTRICT GATES

Night Raid traveled up the rubble littered stairway that lead up to the wealthy district of the Capital. Their main focus however, was the imperial palace. They needed to know if Prime Minister Honest was dead and find out if Emperor Makoto was alive. They finally came up to the large, imposing metal doors that lead into the very heart of the once prosperous Empire. It looked like it had been ripped open by some fearsome Danger Beast.

Before entering, Night Raid looked behind them to view the demolished Capital from afar. It was still just as every bit was horrible when they first saw it.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to get this sight out my head…" Lubbock muttered.

"How many people do you guys think lived here?" Tatsumi asked. In his time working with Night Raid he had always wondered what the total population was. He guessed that there was probably at least a hundred thousand but as he saw the scope of the destruction as well as how big the Capital truly was, he wondered just how many people, be it good or bad, met their end.

"Offhand, I'd say at least 5 million." Chelsea grimly conformed.

Everyone let that fact sink in…5 million lives, maybe even more, snuffed out like a candle in just 3 ½ days. There might have been some survivors that escaped as Bulat previously pointed out but it still didn't make the situation any better. Najenda mentally cursed her inability to prevent whatever happed. But the sooner they got answers, the better.

"Let's keep moving." She said, snapping everyone out of their thoughts. As they came closer to the wrenched open door, Najenda suddenly signaled them to stop. She looked down at her feet to see numerous blood stained footprints leaving whatever was beyond the door and branching off into different parts of the Capital. One thing she noticed is that they seemed to match the description of the strange rectangular footprints Susanoo discovered.

"Get your weapons ready. We don't know if whoever did this is still here." She cautioned. Everyone got into a combative stance with their weapons/Teigus drawn out and slowly made their way to the doors. When they got inside, they all paled.

* * *

THE CAPITAL-NOBILITY DISTRICT

( _Resident Evil 2 soundtrack-Police Station, First Floor loop)_

It was an utter bloodbath.

Mansions were reduced to blazing husks while the bodies of noblemen and other wealthy families were horribly butchered. Makeshift barricades and cannons were completely smashed. The whole area was stained with dried blood. Imperial soldiers had obviously mounted some kind of offensive against whoever decimated the palace, but failed miserably. Their bodies were added to the attackers' gruesome tally.

Speaking of which, the imperial palace had been absolutely obliterated. The massive, glistening castle that the whole Capital could see and had been a monument to the Empire's power was reduced to smoldering wreckage. However, something didn't sit well with Akame.

"Something isn't right here…" She said.

"What do you mean?" Sheele inquired.

"Look around you. Doesn't any of this feel off to you guys?" Akame said, gesturing around her.

Everyone looked around and couldn't really see anything, besides the destroyed mansions and dead bodies lying around them, out of the ordinary. Since nobody could understand what she was getting at, Akame decided to fill in the blanks.

"For one thing, the doors have been forced open outwards. If someone was assaulting the imperial palace, the doors would have been forced open _inwards._ Another thing is that most of the defenses and cannons are positioned _towards_ the palace. I should also point out that the palace it looks like it collapsed in on itself and if you look around, most of the rubble here looks like it came from the palace. It was most likely caused by a very strong explosive force." She explained in great detail.

The team began to understand what she was getting at. "That must have been that first explosion we heard days ago!" Bulat figured out.

"Are you saying that all of this began _inside_ the palace?" Mine questioned incredulously.

"That's pretty much the size of it." Akame deduced.

"Then that has to be that source of all this. Let's head up to the palace and see what we can find." Najenda ordered as she walked over to the wrenched open main gates.

"But shouldn't we look for survivors?" Tatsumi asked, looking at the dead bodies of the rich.

"No need. Most of these sickos were on our hit list."

* * *

IMPERIAL PALACE-COURTYARD ENTRANCE

The courtyard was meant to be a symbol of peace and prosperity. It had everything. Majestic statues of kings and angels, intricately designed fountains flowing with crystal clear water, elegant hedgerows cut into different shapes and gardens having flowers of every kind.

In the past, it was a vision of beauty and represented the proud ideals the Empire represented. But when Honest came into power, it served as an elaborate cover to hide the evil that lurked underneath.

Now it was a warzone. Statues and fountains had been smashed to pieces while the hedges and gardens were reduced to cinders. Craters, rubble and ripped up pieces of earth dotted the whole courtyard. Bloodstains marred the spotless tiles. The entire area was most likely host to an incredibly destructive fight between the destroyers of the Empire and a group of Teigu users.

"Well…something big definitely happened here." Leone said, clearly stating the obvious.

"When your right you're right…this really did start here." Mine said, looking at Akame.

One thing that the group noticed was that some of the bodies present in the area didn't look like imperial soldiers. They wore different styles of clothing and one very important detail about them was that they all had destroyed Teigus lying near them.

Najenda was the first one to notice this.

"Gather the bodies and what's left of their Teigus. We might be able to identify some of them."

40 MINUETS LATER

 _(Return to Castle Wolfenstein soundtrack-Main Menu theme loop)_

Nightfall had come to the Capital. The clouds had parted revealing the moon which cast a pale glow around the area. Night Raid had brought the bodies and lined them up on the ground as sort of a macabre police lineup with their broken Teigus lying in front of them. They searched their persons and found some interesting clues. They all held badges that had their names but they had a different symbol on some of them. One symbol was the head of a snarling wolf and the other symbol was a three pronged crest. Najenda identified it as Esdeath's signature tattoo. But they got the surprise of their lives when they found out the group's names listed under the symbols.

Wild Hunt and The Jaegers.

So far, 5 of the bodies belonged to Wild Hunt while only one body belonged to the Jaegers.

"Alright. Who do we have first?" Najenda asked, starting the investigation.

Chelsea took out the first bage. "Let's see...first we have Dorothea. Not much left of her unfortunately."

The girl wore a turquoise dress, white apron and striped stockings. Most of her limbs had been broken and the top half of her head was reduced to pulpy mess, making it impossible to see what she looked like.

Susanoo held out a bloodied, broken pair of teeth. The big difference was that its canines were long, razor sharp fangs. "This is Blood Collection: Absordex. It allows the user to drain blood from a person's body and enhances their strength and regenerative abilities, essentially turning the user into a vampire."

Sheele looked very worried. "Should we find some garlic and stakes? Just to make sure she's really dead?"

"She's not an _actual_ vampire ya twit." Mine scolded, rolling her eyes.

"Next up we have Enshin. I've heard about of him a long time ago back in my imperial army days. Known as the Scourge of the Eastern Seas, he was an extremely violent misogynist who relished in bloodshed and carnage." Bulat informed as he looked at the body.

Enshin was a muscular yet lean man with a triangular, bob-like haircut. He wore a black outfit which revealed his chest and light colored pants with a sash. His lower body was apparently frozen solid and then shattered into a hundred pieces. A large, cannonball sized hole and been blown through his chest.

"One less asshole in the world." Lubbock remarked. If there was one thing he absolutely hated, it was men who disrespected women for fun. "What was his Teigu?"

Susanoo held up a curved blade that had been broken in half. "Moonlight Sword Dance: Shamshir. It's capable of unleashing aerial blades but it's entirely dependent on the lunar cycle. It becomes especially powerful when it's a full moon." Susanoo explained.

"What's the story with Chunky the Clown over here?" Leone asked as she thumbed at the body. The body in question was a large, morbidly obese, dark skinned man with disturbing clown makeup complete with a red squeaky nose and wore an olive green clown suit along with a tiny baseball cap. Both of his arms had been lopped off and had apparently been stabbed multiple times all over his body with a sharp implement.

Chelsea took out the man's badge. "His name is…Champ!?" She recoiled in disgust.

"They let someone like _him_ in the Capital!?" Sheele gasped.

"You've heard of him?" Najenda inquired.

"Yeah…the guy is a sociopathic rapist. The things he's done to his victims are something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy." Chelsea said venomously.

"What a monster…" Tatsumi breathed, his body instinctively moving away from the corpse.

"It gets worse…he only targets children." Sheele said vehemently, which was really rare for her to show that level of hatred.

"HE'S A F***ING PEDO!?" Mine shrieked.

"Yes, he's the worst kind. After he's done violating them, he butchers them afterwards." Sheele said, her eyes downcast.

"What kind of demons has the Empire been recruiting!?" Tatsumi angrily demanded as his fists shook with rage. How long had this sort of thing been going on?

"The kind that only Honest would approve of." Najenda growled, remembering the unpleasant memory of the woman who took her eye and arm.

Akame held out her hand to Susanoo which held several broken marble-like objects. They were roughly the size of a baseball and had a different symbol on each one. "These were located near his body. Are they part of a Teigu?"

Susanoo inspected it closely. "Yes. That's Ace Solution: Die Leaguer. Each orb is imbued with an element that activates once thrown. The elements are storm, explosion, flame, ice, lightning and rot."

"You do know where that's been, right?" Lubbock pointed out, a disgusted look on his face. "I really hope you're planning on washing your hands afterwards."

Akame looked at her hands and then threw a glance towards Champ's body. She went pale.

"I have some hand sanitizer if you need it." Susanoo offered as he pulled out a bottle from his person. Akame instantly dropped the orbs, swiped the sanitizer out of Susanoo's hands and began applying a copious amount of gel into her palms.

Tatsumi threw Bulat a confused look. The man simply smiled. "Susanoo can be a bit of a neat freak sometimes. You should see what he does to our laundry."

"What about this one? Are we sure she's a part of Wild Hunt? She certainly doesn't fit the picture." Najenda questioned as she looked at the next body. It was a young girl with short, orange hair and wearing a skimpy red mini dress complete with a bunny ear head accessory. Out of all of the bodies, hers was the least butchered but there was a gaping hole in her throat. Someone or something had torn out her larynx. _Barehanded._

Chelsea studied the girl's badge. "Everything certainly checks out. She's a part of Wild Hunt. Says here her name is Cosmina."

Mine walked over and picked up a shattered microphone that was lying in front of her. "Was she some kind of singer? This doesn't really look like a Teigu to me."

"Actually, it is." Susanoo revealed. "That is Great Tremor: Heavy Pressure. It can amplify the user's voice and turn it into ultrasonic waves capable of pulverizing the enemy by shattering their bones."

"I think I recall hearing a high pitched scream when we were stuck at our base..." Leone remembered.

"You sure seem to know a lot about Teigu's, Mr. Su." Tatsumi noticed.

"Since I myself am a Teigu, I have extensive knowledge of most of the known Teigus." Susanoo said, a proud smile on his face." My previous master also told me of the other ones that were lost."

"Is this sword a Teigu as well? This one isn't destroyed like the rest." Sheele asked as she held up an undamaged sword. Susanoo took it and carefully examined it. "This isn't a Teigu. It's just a regular sword. A very finely made one if I say so myself. Who did it belong to?"

Sheele pointed over to the body of a tall man dressed in light green samurai garbs. He had black hair worn in a top ponytail and his most noticeable feature was that his eyes were shown to have black sclera and red irises. He had been bisected _and_ decapitated.

Chelsea checked his badge. "His name's Izou. I wonder why he's in this group when he doesn't have a Teigu…" Chelsea wondered.

"Maybe he was so skilled he didn't really want nor need one." Bulat guessed.

"Wait, didn't the intel we received days ago said that the groups would all be Teigu users?" Lubbock wondered.

"Guess it was off." Najenda shrugged. It was common for spies within the Capital to get their info 70% right and 30% wrong most of the time due to increased patrols around and within highly important places with informational value. They usually had to bug out quick if they were close to being caught.

Mine seemed to notice that there was something more to the chopped up samurai. She knelt down and took a closer look. "Well, this guy is definitely far away from home. Judging from his attire and ethnicity he's probably from the western nation of Iwadomoto. The country prides itself in its fighting force but all of their trained warriors fight for honor and the protection of their country. This one here must have been a bad egg. But if you think about it, Iwadomoto is halfway across the world. That's _way_ out of the Empire's reach so I think he must've come here by chance."

"How do you know all that?" Chelsea asked, impressed by her knowledge.

"Beneath this adorably cute exterior beats the heart of an expert in all known races and cultures!" Mine boasted, remembering her oath to improve diplomatic relations with the Empire and abolish racial discrimination.

"So that only just leaves their leader Syura, right? I don't think there are any more members of Wild Hunt and he's the only one that's not here." Tatsumi said.

"Good observation. Do you think he is dead as well?" Akame questioned.

"I actually don't think so." Leone cut in. "While I was gathering the bodies I came across this hefty looking Teigu next to a severed arm and leg. I picked up a scent on the limbs and they both smell like a younger version of the Prime Minister. There's no doubt. It's got to be him. Also, I think I've seen this Teigu before in that encyclopedia we have but I forgot what it was." Leone explained as she showed the group a large, purple colored, pendent like Teigu that had been completely crushed like an egg.

"I know what that is!" Lubbock suddenly called out. "That's Dimensional Formation: Shambhala. Its user is granted the ability to teleport people and objects over large distances, using markers placed at the target of the teleportation."

"He must've used it to make his escape when most of his team was killed off." Akame surmised.

"But he didn't escape unscathed." Bulat said, reminded of Leone's discovery of severed limbs near the Teigu.

"I doubt he could survive with such injuries." Sheele said bluntly.

"Same here. Probably died from shock and blood loss." Mine agreed.

Najenda mulled this over. She had a point. If their leader was dead and this was all of their members, then Wild Hunt was officially out of the picture. "Alright then. That's one team down. All that's left now are The Jaegers." She started. She directed her attention to the corpse of what appeared to be a doctor. The bespectacled man wore a white lab coat over his yellow suit with a blue, spotted shirt. He had black, spiky hair with a white patch. His arms and legs were riddled with bullets and his throat had been slit.

Chelsea got out the man's badge and inspected it. "Dr. Stylish." She barely suppressed a giggle. "No, really. That's his name!"

"Dr. Stylish? What kind of parent names their kid Stylish?" Tatsumi questioned incredulously.

"Kinda sounds like something Bulat here would name his next of kin!" Leone chuckled as she playfully nudged him. Bulat shot her an unamused look.

"If he was part of a team handpicked by Esdeath herself, then I doubt that any of his medical practices were anything but stylish." Akame noted.

Najenda knelt down and picked up a pair of shredded purple gloves that were near his body. "I've read about this particular Teigu. Glorious Hands of God: Perfector increases the speed and precision of the user's fingers dramatically. It's been used by countless doctors in the past, allowing them to perform their surgeries quickly and flawlessly. This also enabled them to basically heal any injury short of death. I know of a talented doctor in the Revolutionary Army that could've saved so many lives with this. A real shame."

"It's a shame we couldn't use any of these Teigus. They would've helped us out in a pinch." Tatsumi lamented. He had been hoping that he might be able to use a Teigu at some point in the future after Spectator rejected him. Shamshir really could've come in handy if it wasn't broken.

"You do know that one of them belonged to a pedophile, right?" Mine reminded him while eyeing him suspiciously. Tatsumi shuddered at that. "Well, we obviously wouldn't use his!" Tatsumi quickly said.

Najenda rubbed her temples. They answers they were seeking in the epicenter of this unprecedented disaster only gave them more questions. Who really did all of this? What kind of Teigus did they possess to cause this much destruction? Why kill nearly 5 million people?

But the bigger question was why destroy the Teigus? They offered a tremendous tactical advantage on the field of battle and every effort would be made to obtain them from the enemy. They would only have to be destroyed if all other options had been exhausted. Yet whoever did this wanted to make sure that no one could ever use them. But why?

"Okay…we've gathered as much information as we could from the bodies but so far we aren't getting the answers we want. We obviously can't search the castle since most of the entrances are completely caved in but there are still the northern, western, and eastern parts of the courtyard we haven't searched yet. Well' split up to cover more ground. Tatsumi, Akame, Susanoo and Leone will search the eastern part. Sheele, Bulat, Mine, Lubbock, Chelsea and I will look in the western courtyard. We'll meet up at the northern part of the courtyard and see if we can think up of a plan of what to do next."

* * *

IMPERIAL COURTYARD-NORTHERN SIDE

Team 1 arrived at the northern courtyard sooner than expected. The reason why was because there was nothing of importance to search for in the eastern courtyard. The whole area had been burnt to a blackened husk and there were numerous bodies that had been burnt down to the bone.

One thing they did notice was that some of the bodies wore bizarre clothing and had enlarged body parts, most notably a nose and a pair of ears. Since they couldn't find or learn anything useful, they decided to go on ahead to the northern district.

What they saw was just like the first courtyard: a massive, terribly destructive battle. There were 5 dead bodies and, to their surprise, 3 dead Danger Beasts.

Tatsumi's jaw fell open. "Woah! I didn't think I'd see Danger Beasts here in the Capital! How do you think they got here?"

"Well, they certainly didn't want to file an income." Leone joked.

Tatsumi looked at the remains of the dead creatures carefully. One of them was a large, grotesque looking toad and the other one was a bulky, heavily muscled gorilla-like beast. The frog had been frozen solid and then shattered while the gorilla had been diced into confetti. His eyes drifted over to the gargantuan cadaver of a skeletal, reptilian monster. Massive holes had been blown throughout its body while its dinosaur-like skull was split straight down the middle. "I recognize the first two in a Danger Beast bestiary back at my village but I don't think I recognize this giant skeleton looking one."

"That is Desta-Ghoul: an ultra-class Danger Beast." Susanoo confirmed.

"Ultra-class!?"

"Yes. A single energy shot from this monstrosity can level entire landscapes."

"Yikes…how the hell did the empire manage to tame this thing?" Leone wondered, eyeing the creature from top to bottom.

"Im not exactly sure…taming a DangerBeast of such ferocity is near impossible." Susanoo mused.

While her friends were talking about the skeletal Danger Beast, Akame went off on her own to examine the bodies. She walked over to them only to step on something. She looked down and lifted up her foot to see a bag of crushed cookies.

Akame's eyes widened. They looked familiar.

 _Too familiar._

She swallowed the lump in her throat and her hands shook. It couldn't be.

"Hey guys! I think I found another Teigu!" Tatsumi called out. Akame instantly whipped her head around. She quietly gasped. Tatsumi was holding a broken katana that bore a striking resemblance to her Teigu, Murasame. The only difference is that while her hilt was colored red…this one was colored black.

A bead of sweat rand down her forehead. Her heartbeat quickened. There was no point in denying it now.

Her sister was here the night the Capital was attacked by the unknown assailants.

Susanoo and Leone walked over and looked at the Teigu, unaware of Akame's inner turmoil. Susanoo studied it carefully. "Hmm…this is a very dangerous Teigu. It's known as-"

"March of the Dead: Yatsufusa" Akame cut in. Everyone turned to Akame who was looking at the body of a man wearing a long, white trench coat, knee high boots and a green and blue scarf. The man also wore a mask that covered the lower half of his face. He had been cut in half and then impaled with his own weapon, a massive Naginata.

"Anyone who is killed by it is resurrected as a corpse puppet. The user can control up to a maximum of 8 corpses and could also manipulate any skills or abilities they had in life. However the puppets completely lose their emotions and free will." She explained. Her voice was hollow and her eyes were completely shadowed by her hair.

Tatsumi and Leone were mortified that a Teigu like that could exist, let alone be created. Tatsumi's mind was assaulted with various images of Sayo and Ieyasu meeting an even harsher fate: his closest friends being turned into mindless zombies. And not just several days ago…he actually _hoped_ that there was a Teigu that could bring back the dead. He instantly dropped the sword on the ground like it was made out of acid.

Susanoo went over to the bodies an inspected them. There was a woman dressed in cowboy attire, a cloaked man with a red mask, a red haired man wearing a vest/robe combo and a bald, sunglasses wearing man with a white suit. Each of them had been horribly slaughtered.

"They are definitely the user's puppets. They've been in the late stages of rigor mortis for a very long time and their blood is heavily coagulated." Susanoo said. He turned to the red haired man's body and something clicked in his mind. "I know that man! That's Rokugou! My master and I met him before; he was an imperial general who attempted to defect from the Empire. It would appear that he was assassinated before he could do so."

"Damn…he would've been great to have on our side." Leone sighed. She took at gander at the cowgirl and noticed some parts of her body were frozen just like the giant frog. "Is Najenda completely, 100% sure Esdeath didn't screw over the Empire?"

"I trust my master's words." Susanoo said sternly. "I suspect that one of the perpetrators behind this has a Teigu that can copy the abilities of other Teigus." That made Leone a little bit uneasy. Going up against someone who could copy Lionelle would make fighting him or her difficult.

Tatsumi walked over to Akame who was skill staring at the corpse of the impaled man. She seemed listless and more brooding than usual. He tapped her shoulder, causing her to flinch a little.

"Akame? Do you know who this man is?"

"…That's not important right now."

"Not important? Akame are you okay? You don't sound like yourself. Is something bothering you?"

"No. It's nothing."

Tatsumi didn't buy that. There was something clearly distressing her.

"Akame-"

"I SAID IT'S NOTHING!" She snapped.

Tatsumi stepped away from her in shock while Leone and Susanoo looked at her with surprise and confusion. Realizing her outburst Akame calmed herself, turned away and slowly distanced herself from her friends. Tatsumi was rooted where he stood, completely stunned. He never thought she could suddenly express that much anger at the drop the hat. Susanoo and Leone walked over to Tatsumi, the both of them wearing the same expression he had.

"I-I've never seen her act like that…" Tatsumi breathed.

" _No one_ has seen her act like that." Leone said in disbelief.

They heard footsteps and turned around to see Lubbock running towards them. "Hey guys! Did you find any more clues?"

"Nope. Just more dead bodies and another wrecked Teigu. The eastern courtyard we were told to scout didn't have anything. We didn't find squat." Leone informed him.

"We certainly did. The boss sent me over to get you guys. She said that everyone needs to see this." Lubbock told them.

The group nodded and followed Lubbock to the western courtyard. Akame followed them, but not before giving one last look at the impaled man.

"Rest in peace…Natala."

* * *

IMPERIAL COURTYARD-WESTERN SIDE

 _(Back to the Future 2 Soundtrack-Alternate 1985)_

The rest of the team arrived at the western courtyard where they met up with Najenda, Bulat, Sheele, Mine and Chelsea. The leader of Night Raid had a serious look on her face. She was gazing at a horribly charred skeleton that was missing an arm and was wearing an odd looking crown.

"What's wrong with the boss?" Tatsumi asked Bulat.

The man shrugged. "We're not sure. She's been like this ever since we found that skeleton."

Everyone walked over to her and the roasted bones that were sprawled on the ground. Everyone stayed silent, unsure of how to ask her what was troubling her. Then, she spoke. "It's him."

The team looked confused.

She turned to them. "It's Honest."

Their jaws fell open in complete shock. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"

Akame was just as shocked as the rest of her friends." Boss, I don't mean to question your judgment but are you truly certain that's the Prime Minister?"

Najenda silently bent down and took off the crown that sat atop the Prime Minister's charcoaled skull. She passed it to Bulat as the rest of team began to crowd around him to get a closer look. The center of the crown had a small, purple crystal inside it that had been shattered.

"Look familiar to you guys?" She asked rhetorically. Everyone looked at the object before it all suddenly fell into place. "That's his crown!" Mine exclaimed.

"And it's also a Teigu." Susanoo confirmed. Everyone turned around to the humanoid Teigu. "Absolute Limitation: Erastone. It has the power to destroy a Teigu instantaneously." Their eyes widen when they heard that. The thought of permanently losing their Teigus filled the team with dread.

"So if any one of us managed to corner him… he would destroy our Teigus and kill us somehow!" Chelsea deduced.

"It also would have instantly killed me." Susanoo stated.

"I always knew that pig had a trick up his sleeve." Najenda growled. Everyone looked at the skeleton in silence.

It was over.

Prime Minister Honest was dead. The man responsible for years of pain, misery, hate and bloodshed was gone forever. He could no longer ruin anymore innocent lives and his legacy of corruption had ended with his death.

At long last, the nightmare was finally over.

Tatsumi stared at the still smoldering skeleton of the deranged Prime Minister along with his teammates. He turned towards his friends who all casted a wrathful glare at the remains. He knew that they all suffered because of Honest's actions and now he had finally paid for his atrocities in blood. Deep down, he knew that he should be happy that the Empire was free from his influence but so many people had died during the attack. Sure, there were numerous corrupt officials and other horrible human beings but not every single person in the Capital was evil.

"It should have been us." Lubbock said, breaking the silence. "It was _our_ mission to kill him. _We_ should've been the one to end his life. _We_ should've been the ones to make him suffer. It was _our_ vow…and we couldn't do shit."

Leone patted him on the back. "I feel your pain too, buddy. I would've loved to crush his skull with my bare hands."

"Same here. One good shot was all I ever needed." Mine grumbled as she patted Pumpkin.

"You guys are gonna have to get in line, I think Akame here called dibs way before you ever did." Chelsea smiled as she turned to Akame. She expected Akame to simply brush it off or reply with blunt sarcasm but she got nothing. Akame still stared at the skeleton, completely unmoving. Chelsea, Mine and Lubbock gave Leone a confused look but she quickly shook her head, silently telling them not to bother her right now. They all got the message.

Sheele turned away from the skeleton and gave herself some space. It was finally over but what did the future hold for her? The only thing she was good was killing those that deserved to die but now that Honest was dead and all their targets dead as well, what could she do now? Could she really give up on killing? Did this mean she could finally live a normal life now?

She was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. There was something hidden in the hedges a few feet away from her friends. She silently made her way over; her teammates not even noticing.

Najenda got out her cigar, let it up and took a long drag _. 'Have fun in Hell, fatass. Without you, everyone loyal to you will be disorganized and completely fall apart._ She thought. _'But we still don't have a single damn clue who did this. We know it's got to be a group of Teigu users but their tactics make no sense. Killing Honest is one thing but wiping out a majority of the populace is pure overkill. There's got to be some kind of motive or reason behind this…'_

Najenda unceremoniously flicked what was left on her cigar on Honest's burnt remains. "At least we know that the Prime Minister won't be causing us anymore trouble. But now we need to find-"

"The Emperor!" Sheele suddenly cried out. Everyone snapped their heads over to see Sheele standing over something near the hedges, her eyes wide in shock and her hands covering her mouth. Everyone quickly rushed over to where she was and gasped.

Lying on the ground in front of them was Emperor Makoto…with his neck bent at a crooked, horribly uneven angle. His royal robes were smattered with blood and his eyes were completely glazed over. His throat looked like it had been squeezed in a vice-like grip, completely breaking his neck like a twig. A small trickle of blood ran down the side of his slightly open mouth.

Night Raid's shock was soon replaced with sadness. They all couldn't help but feel bad for the poor boy. If the Prime Minister hadn't been influencing him, he could've followed in his parents footsteps and made the Empire a safe haven for everybody. But Honest had led him astray and he remained completely oblivious to all of the atrocities committed in the Capital. He didn't deserve to die like this. No _child_ deserved to die like this.

Tatsumi was still hocked at what he was seeing. Not because of the Emperor's grisly death, but at how young he was. The boy had to have been no more than 10 years old!

"This is the Emperor!?"Tatsumi gasped, confused and mortified that a little boy was leading the Empire." But he's just a-"

"A kid?" Chelsea interrupted. "He's always been a kid. How do think the Prime Minister had been manipulating him this whole time? He got this position forced upon him when the king and queen died and he didn't even know how to lead at all. Then Honest comes in and he pretty much tells him how to do his job while in reality he's turning the Empire into a hell on earth. He was probably scared, confused, unsure and probably stressed out of his mind when they crowned him Emperor. That was the perfect opportunity for Honest to goad him into trusting him with fake assurances and bogus acts of kindness. Kids these days will listen to anybody." She explained forlornly.

Tatsumi was at a loss of words. As much as he hated to admit it, she brought up a very good point. Tatsumi was a very gullible child in his youth and so were Sayo and Ieyasu. To fool a child into thinking he was doing the right thing while blind to the horrors his advisor was inflicting on the innocent was beyond low. He felt a surge of hatred course through his body. Honest truly was an unforgivable scumbag and a part of him wished he could bring him back just so he could make him suffer.

Akame felt saddened by Makoto's death as well. It reminded her of how she and her sister were forced into difficult circumstances, just like him. The both of them deserved better childhoods. Out of respect for the fallen Emperor, Akame knelt down next to him and ran her hand across his eyes, closing them.

The rest of the gang was left to their own thoughts. For the first time, they were at a total loss. All of their hard work had been for nothing. The Empire was completely annihilated, a majority of its people was mercilessly butchered, multiple Teigus that could've benefitted the Revolutionary Army were destroyed and to top it all off, the Prime Minister and the Emporer had been killed. But the one thing that still racked their minds was the fact that they still didn't know who the mysterious group was.

 _ **Bfoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom**_

A dull, muffled explosion caught the team's attention as they swiveled their heads over to the northern mountains. They hurried over to an overlook that gave them a good view of the northern part of the Capital.

Out in the distance, from very far away, they could see numerous flashes coming from deep within the snowcapped mountains of the northern territories. They were accompanied by deafened explosions that briefly lit up the mountains. What caught their eyes the most however, were the numerous spires of ice that occasionally popped up every now and then.

 _ **Bwaaaaboooooooooooom**_

 _ **Budda budda budda budda budda**_

 _ **Bssshhhhhheeeeeeewwwwwww**_

 _ **Babllaaaaaaaaaammmm**_

 _ **Shraakoooooowwwww**_

"Wow…Esdeath's really tearing up the north. I wonder if she knows what happened to the Capital." Lubbock pondered.

"No..." Najenda said, her voice rife with fear and realization. "She's fighting _them_."

Everyone went rigid. They could only image the sheer scale of the battle that was raging within the mountains. Esdeath's unstoppable power over ice versus whatever destructive Teigus the unknown group wielded. But who would win?

"I bet 500 gold on Esdeath." Mine suddenly said out of the blue.

Everyone looked at her.

"What? It's totally friggin obvious who's going to win!"

"Maybe…but it's still too early to decide who will emerge victorious." Bulat said, glancing towards the mountains. Unbeknownst to the group, Mine's joke had given Najenda an idea and she quickly began to formulate a plan in her head.

"We'll never found out if we just keep standing here. Akame, I want you to take Mine, Bulat and Chelsea to look around for any horses, supplies or messenger birds we can use. Susanoo, I also need you to take Tatsumi, Lubbock and Sheele back to the hideout to gather food and other provisions. One other thing I need you to do is get one of my upgraded prosthetics. It should be in my room. Once you have all got everything, we'll all meet at the northern entrance of the Capital." Najenda instructed.

"What about you, boss?" Sheele asked.

"I need to think up a plan. Also…I need to give the Emperor a proper burial." She said solemnly, throwing a glance to the young boy's corpse. The team sadly nodded their heads, acknowledging the fact that Najenda herself used to be a general of the Empire.

* * *

IMPERIAL PALACE-ROYAL CEMETARY

 _(Antz Soundtrack-Death of Barbados)_

Due to all of the debris and most of the entrances blocked off, getting to the Royal cemetery was difficult but Najenda had managed to get there while carrying the body of Emperor Makoto in her arms. After some searching, she found herself a shovel from a wrecked toolshed and dug him a grave right next to the tombstones of the late king and queen; his mother and father.

After digging a deep, decently sized hole, Najenda carefully laid the body of the Emperor in the pit and began throwing the dirt she dug up into the whole. After it was done, she patted the dirt down and found a large slab of rubble to use as a makeshift gravestone. She placed it at the top of the grave and looked long and hard at it. The still full moon shone across the cemetery giving it a dreary and somber atmosphere.

Najenda knelt down and gently placed her hand on top of the gravestone. Her mind drifted back to her Imperial days when she was promoted to general by the Emperor. She remembered how young he looked and wondered if a kid should really be in a position to rule the Empire. But when she later found out how corrupted it was and how he couldn't make a decisions without Honest by his side, how was he supposed to know that he was only a figurehead and Honest was really the one in charge? Maybe if he knew beforehand…things could've been different.

"This is all I can do for you, your Majesty…Im sorry you couldn't learn the truth sooner."

* * *

THE CAPITAL-NORTHERN ENTRANCE

40 minutes later, the rest of the team had gathered at the northern entrance to the Capital with horses and dozens of backpacks containing food, medical supplies and other essential gear. Lucky, Akame's team had managed to find 6 horses they could ride on as well as a lone and thankfully uninjured messenger bird. Najenda had written a letter to the Revolutionary Army headquarters concerning the situation at the Capital and that Night Raid was going to investigate who was responsible.. She attached the letter to a messenger bird and sent it south, to where HQ was located. Najenda replaced her prosthetic arm with the upgraded one Susanoo had retrieved. This one looked the same as her last one but it was cobalt blue in color and it was equipped with a built in heavy machinegun along with her grappling hook hand the other one had.

Once they had everything in order, everyone gathered their gear and saddled up. Najenda and Susanoo rode on their own horses while the rest had to ride together. The pairs were Akame and Leone, Bulat and Tatsumi, Mine and Chelsea and the last ones to ride together were Sheele and Lubbock.

"Okay guys, here's the score." Najenda started. "As we all know, Honest is dead. However this doesn't mean we can celebrate yet. The ones responsible for all this are still out there and they didn't just want to take out Honest, _everyone_ here was a target. This means that they are _not_ on our side and their intentions here were clearly hostile. We need to stop them before they kill any more innocent people. I know I already said they might be a group of Teigu users but as it stands, we have no exact idea who they really are or what kind of Teigus they have so we need to be on our guard. Another thing I want to tell you all is that while Honest is gone, Esdeath is still at large. As long as she is alive she'll find a way to ignite another war and the whole thing starts all over again. If there is to be any chance of peace, Esdeath and the Teigu users must _die_." She said seriously.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Luckily, there is a silver lining to all this." She revealed, while looking towards the northern mountains. The battle was still raging on. "We already know that Esdeath is fighting the culprits and their both equal in terms of strength. That means that only one will come out of this alive, _but_ _weakened._ We can use this opportunity to finish off the victor since they will be in no condition to fight back. There is also a good chance that we might be able to save Prince Numa Seika and his army."

"Hitting two birds with one stone…I like this plan!" Leone said excitedly.

"We also need to be on the lookout for the Three Beasts." Bulat reminded everyone.

"The three who?" Tatsumi asked.

"The Three Beasts are Esdeath's most loyal subordinates and most lethal enforcers. However, as strong as they are, I doubt they would still be alive if they encountered our currently unknown perpetrators." Akame said.

"Very true." Najenda said, agreeing with Akame. "Another thing is that we don't know where the rest of the Jaegers are or if General Budo survived the attack."

"Budo?" Tatsumi asked again.

"He's the Empires strongest general next to Esdeath. But we can worry about him and the Jaegers for another time. It is imperative we get to the north as fast as possible and end this once and for all. Are all of you ready?" Najenda inquired.

"Yes sir!" Everyone said in unison.

Najenda smiled. "Then let's move out!"

Night Raid rode out to the north, leaving the ruins of the Capital behind them. They weren't sure what would await them when they got to the north, but they were ready. The real question was how ready were they?

* * *

THE CAPITAL-FRONT GATES

A lone figure silently walked through the gates. He stood like a statue in the middle of the street, taking in the horrific sight for an uncomfortably long time. He looked at the destroyed buildings and dead bodies splayed everywhere. His eyes suddenly locked onto the body of a woman who was trying to shield her daughter from whoever was attacking but to no avail. They died in each other's arms.

The figure fell to his knees and looked down at his trembling, gloved hands.

"My god…" He spoke in a nasally voice. "What have I created!?"

To be continued…

* * *

 **PHEW!**

 **This chapter was a doozy to write because I had to go through a lot of revisions. I really wanted to keep the whole mystery element in the story. I want Night Raid to think that they're going up against a group of Teigu users before I eventually face them off against the Ultrabots, hence why I made them to an investigation of Wild Hunt, Dr. Stylish, Kurome's puppets and Honest.**

 **Speaking of which, what did you guys think of Wild Hunt's deaths? Just right or too lenient?**

 **I made Akame a little bit more sensitive towards the subject of her sister because I always thought that in her head, her sister is her responsibility and she couldn't possibly live with the thought of someone else killing her only blood relative. That's why she snapped at Tatsumi.**

 **One really big change to this chapter is that I originally wanted Stylish, Izou and Makoto live. After giving it some thought, I realized that it may not work out due to the current situation.**

 **For starters, Stylish isn't exactly a team player even when he was on Esdeath's team. Personally I don't think he ever saw Seryu as a friend, just another lab rat he can experiment on. Sure he had that giant mutant baby thing he could transform into but all in all, he wasn't exactly a fighter in terms of offensive combat.**

 **Even though Izou was technically the "lesser evil" of Wild Hunt, it still doesn't change the fact that he was part of quite possibly one of the most deranged groups in manga history and let's not forget that** _ **he killed Lubbock**_ **. It was clear from the get go that he wasn't getting off easy.**

 **Now for the most controversial part of my decision. Yes, I killed off Makoto but for a very good reason and this pertains to a comment that one of my reviewers, Thaqif, left in my review section.**

 **I understand wholeheartedly that Makoto was just a kid who thought he was doing the right and didn't know any better, but there's being manipulated and then there's being f***ing stupid. I always felt angry when he was around Honest because on multiple occasions the fat turd always had a mile wide slasher grin on his face right next to the freaking Emperor in plain sight. That should be more than enough warning to make Makoto think, "He always seems to have that evil smile on his face…should I really be listening to him, let alone trust him?"**

 **And don't even get me started on when he goes completely power mad while piloting Shikotazer in the manga. The point im trying to get at is if there is any way for the Empire to recover, the slate has to be wiped clean just like in the anime. Cruel? Yes it is. But necessary in the world of Akame ga Kill? Unfortunately yes as well.**

 **Also, the country that Izou came from was my fan made idea and I don't know what the currency in Akame ga Kill is called so I just named it gold. If there is anyone out there who knows what it's really called, let me know and I will edit it.**

 **Don't forget to leave a review but please don't flame.**

 **P.S. if you don't know who the figure was at the end of the chapter, you clearly don't watch Samurai Jack.**


	5. Red Snow

**Good afternoon folks! Here's the 5** **th** **chapter!**

 **I gotta say, I'm really happy with all the questions and reviews I'm getting. I was afraid this was never going to get off the ground!**

 **I'm also surprised that a lot of people have been asking me for a flashback chapter of what happened at the Capital. Well, ask and ye shall receive, I plan on doing just that somewhere down the road! But be patient!**

 **Review time!**

 **SulliMike23: Read on and find out!**

 **Wayward Son: Due to certain plot points I don't want to reveal yet, I can't answer those but thanks for asking anyway.**

 **Guest #1: Night Raid will meet the Ultrabots Eventually.**

 **Thaqif: While I understand your reaction to Makoto's death; it's actually quick and painless if you think about it.**

 **Believe it or not, I was originally planning to make Exdor the villain but when you look at him, he doesn't really come off as a bad guy. So I decided to make him identical to his canon counterpart. If he really was going to be the antagonist, then he would have to be a goofy evil scientist like Chester V from Meatballs 2 or Richmond Valentine from Kingsman and that wouldn't work in the world of Akame ga Kill. Awesome reference to DOOM though, that game is kick ass!**

 **I won't spoil what weapons the Ultrabots wield yet but you are right on 2 of them. Concerning your interpretation about the doors, I will reveal that in an eventual flashback chapter somewhere down the road. And your right about Bols, that man deserved better.**

 **Pyromania101: I will be doing just that sometime in the future.**

 **Mythfan: Don't go counting her out just yet…**

 **Junior VB: Read the chapter and you'll know!**

 **NRG: I will be keeping the cannon pairings and you can also expect some Lubbock X Najenda but to be honest, I'm not really good at making romantic situations so forgive me if some of them feel rushed or half-assed. Some advice would really be appreciated.**

 **Colossalblackening: Thank you for the suggestions and im glad you like my story!**

 **Guest #2: I do plan on making several flashback chapters and you bring up a good point about Bols gasmask. I'm actually planning on looking into that more…**

 **Red John: I will reveal his reasons for making the Ultrabots in the later chapters and thank you for reminding me about his high five gag. I had completely forgotten about it!**

 **Akame ga Kill and Samurai Jack belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

* * *

Chapter 5

Red Snow

NOTHERN TERRITORIES-1 DAY LATER

It had been a full day since Night Raid left the destroyed Capital and headed off to the north. They didn't even stop to rest, they just kept on riding. As they rode across the snow covered road to the ice capped northern mountains where the battle continued to rage on since last night, they noticed something strange. When they went to the northern gates of the Capital they saw the familiar rectangular footprints heading outside the gates. But as they travelled to the north they saw the footprints being replaced by deep indentations in the ground. It was like someone had recently rode carriages up there or rolled a bunch of boulders uphill. It only added more questions to the increasingly bizarre situation.

They traveled for hours until Najenda signaled everyone to stop. "The temperature is starting to drop. Let's take a quick break to put our winter gear on."

The team tied the horses to a nearby tree and Susanoo dug up several large coats out of his travel bag. As them team began putting on coats, gloves and snowcaps they noticed that the battle in the mountains had begun to subside until it finally stopped. It was now eerily silent, save for the wind gently blowing across the snowy ground.

"Who do you think won?" Chelsea wondered.

"Im telling you, it's obviously Esdeath." Mine huffed.

"But the ones who destroyed the Capital are probably just as strong as her so maybe they could've beaten her with superior numbers, right?" Tatsumi pondered.

"Then again, there could be they rare possibility that they both managed to kill each other." Akame pointed out.

"We'll probably never find out if we just keep standing here." Leone said.

After the team had gotten their winter clothes on, Najenda began to debrief them on their next course of action. "Guys…I know we've all fought difficult battles and skilled opponents before in the past but I'm going to tell you right now, Esdeath is on an entirely different level. Believe me when I say that she will test you to your very limits. Her strength and combat prowess are nothing to joke about; we need to be extremely cautious when engaging her. We can only hope that the fight has weakened her enough for us to-"

 _ **VWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM**_

Everyone looked up to see a massive tornado of black, inky smoke erupt from within the mountains it continued to climb higher and higher into the sky! It grew larger and larger as the team looked on in complete bewilderment.

"What the hell is that!?" Mine yelled.

"A tornado!? Here!? That's impossible!" Lubbock shouted.

The black cyclone continued to rise higher and higher into the air for several minutes until it eventually dissipated into nothing. Night Raid stood completely rooted on the spot; unable to make out what the hell they just saw. Najenda quickly snapped out of it and turned to her teammates. "We need to go! _Now_!" She barked.

The team began to quickly gather their gear and untie the horses when another sound assaulted their eardrums.

 _ **BAAAAAABLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH**_

They turned around to see a geyser of water explode into the air and if that wasn't strange enough, a dark could suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the sky right over the geyser. A deep rumble emanated from the clouds before an enormous lightning bolt shot out and struck the geyser dead on!

 _ **SSHAAAAAKAAAAAAAKRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM**_

The geyser exploded into an enormous cloud of pure electricity, blinding Night Raid and almost deafening them. The team shut their eyes and covered their ears as the blast echoed throughout the valley. Then, all was quiet. Night Raid looked at each other in stunned silence before wordlessly mounting their horses and continuing their journey.

* * *

NORTHERN TERRITORIES-2 DAYS LATER

It would've taken several hours to get into the mountains of the north by air manta, but since they didn't have one, Night Raid had to make do with their horses. They had to rest the horses and themselves as the days went by; lucky for everyone they had plenty of camping supplies to make several tents and rest.

They traveled along the main road following the long indentations in the ground when they noticed something and stopped. A few of the tracks had gone off to the right, heading straight into the dense forest.

"It seems that some of them split up…but why?" Sheele wondered.

"I think I might have a theory." Bulat spoke up. "If this group is as dangerous as they are, then they are also very smart as well. Half of them went after Esdeath and if that smoke cloud over there is any indication, the other half must've gone after Prince Numa Seika as well." Bulat continued as he pointed to the thin trail of smoke that snaked towards the cloudy sky from the other side of the forest.

' _A double pronged attack…these guys are professionals.'_ Najenda thought, weighing the situation heavily.

"Should we split up? We might be able to cover more ground." Akame advised.

Najenda thought hard. "No. For all we know, this group or Esdeath might be waiting for us if we do that. We'll stick together for now so let's go see if they are still alive and finish them off." She said as she signaled her team to move out.

* * *

NORTHER TERRITORIES-MAIN ROAD

 _(John Carpenter's The Thing soundtrack-Humanity part 1)_

Night Raid continued along winding road while cautiously keeping an eye on their surroundings. The events as of late had everyone on edge and they weren't going to let anything sneak up on them. They followed the main road for several hours until they came upon a gruesome sight and stopped their horses.

Before them were dozens of slaughtered, masked Imperial solders (including a rather large one) littering the ground, all of them torn to shreds. The snow that covered the area was completely stained red. Swords, lances, shields and guns had been shattered to pieces and the bodies of multiple horses could be seen as well. The corpses of the soldiers had the same fatal wounds as the others back at the Capital. Some were crushed, cut to ribbons or blown to pieces.

Night Raid slowly got off their horses and silently walked through the snowy killing fields. The teams all had their weapons drawn and their eyes were darting around every second or so, expecting someone or something to jump out. They were all dreadfully edgy and their nerves were terribly frayed. Najenda knelt down and inspected one of the bodies. She noticed that there was a familiar looking brand on the back of the body's neck. She instantly recognized it as Esdeath's tattoo.

"There's no doubt about it, these were definitely Esdeath's elite soldiers." Najenda confirmed.

"I think these two over here might be a part of Esdeath's Beasts." She heard Leone call out. Najenda turned her head and walked over to see her team looking over two corpses. One was slumped against a pine tree and one was sprawled across the ground. They both wore an expression of agony on their faces, most likely their last moments.

The first body was a burly, heavyset male with a muscular build and spiky, blond hair. He wore a black suit and a headdress that made it look like he had horns. The most peculiar thing about him was his pupil-less eyes. A large, shattered battle axe had been lodged into his skull and there was a gaping hole in the left side of his chest. The perpetrators had _ripped his heart out_.

The second body was that of a short, petite young boy with yellow blond hair, golden cat-like eyes and pointed canines. He wore the same clothing and headdress as the other man. His legs were sliced off at the knees and a broken, red and black clarinet had been impaled through his throat.

"Jeez…this mysterious group really had it out for Esdeath and her cronies, huh?" Leone observed.

"Maybe some of them had families that were killed by her and they wanted revenge." Sheele guessed.

"It would make sense but they went after almost everybody in the Capital and even killed those who were innocent." Akame reminded her.

Susanoo looked at the bodies and the implements lodged into them. "These two were Teigu users." He confirmed.

He walked over and dislodged the yellow axe from the man's head. The humanoid Teigu studied the axe before it completely fell apart in his hands. "This is…or rather used to be Double Bladed Axe: Belvaac. It contains a tremendous amount of offensive power but can only be wielded by someone with a very high level of strength. It can also be separated into two axes and when thrown, will actively pursue the target."

Bulat searched the body and pulled out badge. He carefully inspected it. "His name is Daidara. It looks like Leone was right on the money; this guy was a part of the Three Beasts."

"Sweet! What do I win?" Leone asked cheerfully. Najenda face palmed.

Akame, Tatsumi, Chelsea and Lubbock began to inspect the other body. Akame held up the badge which belonged to the corpse. "This one is a part of the Three Beasts as well. His name is Nyau."

Lubbock pulled out the broken clarinet that was lodged in his neck and inspected it. "I wonder why he was carrying this around…did he have any other weapons on him?"

Chelsea showed Lubbock a small knife that had flecks of dried blood on it. "This was found near him. Hardly seems worth it to carry something so miniscule. But that doesn't really explain the flute."

"That flute is actually a Teigu." Susanoo informed as he walked over. "Military Music Dream: Scream is capable of instantly hypnotizing anyone who hears its melody. My previous master told me numerous accounts of this weapon; it was capable of bringing entire battalions of soldiers under the user's control."

"Wow! Who would've thought that something so inconspicuous looking to be so powerful." Tatsumi said, mildly impressed by it.

Chelsea flashed Tatsumi a mischievous smirk. "When it comes to Teigus you can never judge a book by its cover!" She said as she patted Gaea Foundation.

Tatsumi gave her a brief smile when he noticed something buried under the snow near Nyau's body. He brushed off the snow, revealing a brown colored satchel. Tatsumi picked it up and felt that there was something oddly wet inside it. He opened it and looked inside…only to immediately wish he hadn't.

"GAAAAAHHHH!" Tatsumi yelled as he threw the satchel away from him and fell flat on his rear. Most of the team heard him and quickly rushed over. Akame was instantly at his side, trying to help him get up. "Tatsumi, what's wrong?"

"F-F-F-F-FACES! THERE'S FACES IN THAT BAG!" He yelled, his eyes wide and pointing a trembling finger at it.

Everyone looked at each other, confused as to what Tatsumi meant. Lubbock and Chelsea cautiously walked over to the satchel. Lubbock carefully opened it-

The two of them instantly recoiled in horror. The bag was filled with _flayed human faces!_

Chelsea ran over to the nearest tree and began emptying the contents of her stomach onto the snow.

Lubbock staggered away from the bag, a look of disgust and pure mortification on his face. His eyes slowly drifted over to the small knife that Chelsea found near Nyau. It soon dawned upon him that it was not just a simple knife used for self-defense: _it was a skinning knife._

Lubbock turned to the group who were wondering what was going on. "He's not kidding. This f***ing psycho slices people's faces off and keeps them in his friggin man purse!"

The team was shocked to hear that. It didn't surprise Najenda, however. She saw Esdeath willingly recruit that gleeful little maniac into her group a long time ago back in her general days. Back when Esdeath went from friendly rival to homicidal murderess who relished in mass slaughter and horrific forms of torture.

' _So far we have two of the Three Beasts accounted for but the last one and Esdeath are nowhere to be found. Did she bail? No…Esdeath never runs from a fight. Ever.'_ Najenda thought inwardly.

Tatsumi and Sheele walked over to Chelsea who had finished vomiting. Tatsumi gently patted her back while Sheele got out a tissue and handed it to Chelsea. "Are you okay?" Sheele asked as Chelsea took the tissue and wiped her mouth.

"Yeah…I'm fine." Chelsea breathed. "Please don't tell Mine I threw up."

"Don't worry, our lips are sealed." Sheele reassured her.

Tatsumi suddenly noticed something and then became concerned. "Wait a minute…where _is_ Mine?"

Everyone looked around to see that he was right: Night Raid's diminutive, pink-haired sniper was nowhere to be found!

"Mine? Mine where are you?" Najenda called out.

"Im here!" They heard her yell. They turned around to see Mine running towards them up ahead the road.

"Mine! Where the hell were you!?" Najenda angrily demanded.

"Were supposed to stick together! We don't know if Esdeath or those other guys are still out here!" Leone scolded, concerned for her friends safety.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I just wanted to do a little bit reconnaissance up ahead and then I stumbled on something you guys really need to see." Mine explained. Najenda's anger vanished. This was most likely the clues they were looking for that might shed some light on the situation.

"Lead the way then." Najenda ordered.

Everyone began to follow Mine as she led them through the main road. As they walked, heavy snow began to slowly descend from the clouds but it didn't impede their progress. They followed Mine for about 30 minutes when they came across an entire area that had been the scene of a massive battle. Trees and been splintered or chopped in half while numerous razor sharp ice spikes dotted the area. Splashes of frozen blood stained the ground as it became clear that Esdeath truly did fight the ones who destroyed the Capital.

"Woah…" Tatsumi breathed.

"That's not the half of it." Mine said as she pointed to her right.

The team looked to where she was pointing to see a mass of trees had been destroyed or clearcut, forming a path that led deeper into the forest. Coincidentally, a few flecks of blood could be seen trailing into the makeshift path as well as some footprints. Some looked like they belonged to someone who wore high heels and the others were the same rectangular footprints they found leading up here. Night Raid exchanged uncertain looks at each other before cautiously following the trail that led into the dense, snow blanketed forest.

* * *

NORTHERN TERRITORIES-SEVERAL MINUETS LATER

 _(John Carpenter's The Thing soundtrack-Solitude)_

Night Raid continued to walk through the forest, following the trail that the intense fight had created. As they resumed their trek, they saw evidence that the battle was becoming more and more intense. More ice spikes cropped up everywhere, more trees where sliced in half or destroyed and multiple small medium sized craters caused by explosions were dotted everywhere.

They saw more instances of blood but they couldn't figure out if it was Esdeath's or this other group. They noticed a large, unmoving creature lying just ahead of them. There was a lot of blood around it, which meant that it was most likely dead. They moved closer and got a good look at the creature. It was dark brown it color, had long, hind legs that ending in razor sharp talons, bore distinctive reptilian features and had a triangular shaped head. Its wings were blown off and it had been decapitated. Its frozen blood stained the snow.

"A Mountain Wyvern! I've read about this thing before, its a species of Danger Beast that only inhabits mountainous regions." Tatsumi informed while looking over the corpse.

"But what's it doing all the way out here? It's way out of its element." Bulat questioned.

"It's Esdeath's pet." Najenda confirmed.

"She tamed this thing!?" Lubbock asked incredulously.

"Somehow I don't think I want to know what someone like her fed it." Sheele said, paling.

"Trust me. _You Don't_." Najenda warned. She had seen too many prisoners messily devoured by this horrid monster.

"Master! I have found something you need to see!" Susanoo called out. Everyone turned to Susanoo hurriedly walking over to them, holding something in his hands.

"What did you find?"

"Does _this_ look familiar to you?"

Susanoo held out a rapier which had been snapped in half. Najenda's eyes widened as she swiped the broken weapon out of Susanoo's hands. She instantly recognized the handle of the rapier and her hands began to shake as she looked at it long and hard.

"Boss, what's wrong?" Akame asked.

"This is Esdeath's sword!" Najenda gasped.

Everyone's jaws fell open. It soon began to dawn upon them that The Empire's Strongest had fought a losing battle. Whoever this mysterious group was, _they were stronger than Esdeath._ Some of the members began to think that they were in way over their heads and they were starting to feel a little bit scared as to what kind of Teigus this group wielded to best the Ice Queen herself.

Najenda glanced behind her to see that the path continued and then branched off to a sharp right. She tossed the rapier onto the ground and looked to her team. "Let's keep going, we're burning daylight." She ordered.

* * *

NORTHERN TERRITORIES-2 HOURS LATER

 _(John Carpenter's The Thing soundtrack-Humanity part 2)_

Whenever Tatsumi went on an assassination mission with his teammates they were calm, collected, and precise. They never fell under pressure and they always made sure the mission got done right.

This was not one of those times. Tatsumi could tell that they were all extremely paranoid about their surroundings. This was most likely the first time they ever felt actual, raw fear. They were tightly gripping their weapons, they were sweating profusely despite the cold weather and their heads were darting around at the slightest movement, as if expecting something to ambush them. Tatsumi had to admit, he too was feeling afraid. For all he knew, the ones responsible for this could be watching their every move from the shadows and waiting for a perfect opportunity to strike. But he couldn't chicken out. He and everyone else needed to stop whoever destroyed the Capital and end their campaign of carnage.

The day had already gone into the afternoon with heavy snowfall blanketing the ground in densely packed snow. The team continued to trudge through the pathway, with signs of the battle increasing in chaotic intensity. More trees were decimated, more frozen spikes dotted the forest and more craters perforated the snow. What really caught their attention were the massive spires of ice that rose into the sky.

They came upon a sizable clearing up ahead and as they got near, their eyes widened in amazement. Before them laid an utterly gigantic crater. The trees around it were completely blown over and there was some water in the very center of the crater. It seemed to take up half of the whole forest. "I think we've found the source of that black tornado 2 days ago." Bulat said.

"That explains some of it but where did that giant waterspout and the lightning bolt come from?" Mine questioned.

"There's a possibility that they could've been caused by a Teigu." Akame theorized. The wielder of Murasame had brought up a very good point. Only a Teigu could be capable of doing something like this.

"Do you know any that could do something like that, Mr. Su?" Sheele asked him. Susanoo cupped his chin and closed his eyes in thought.

"I don't know any that could've caused that tornado…but I think I know what summoned that geyser and the lightning. Thunder God's Rage: Adramelech and Water Dragon Possession: Black Marlin. The former allows the user to control lighting while the latter gives the user the ability to manipulate water." He explained.

Najenda remembered Black Marlin belonging to a certain general that she knew. One that Bulat used to serve under.

Liver.

In her Imperial days she knew that man was an honorable, well respected general in the army who cared deeply for his men. But when he refused to take numerous bribes from the Prime Minister, the fat bastard had him framed for crimes he never committed. After Esdeath bailed him out and recruited him into the three beasts, he was never the same.

She slightly turned her head to Bulat who was still transfixed at the sheer size of the crater. Najenda knew that Bulat had a deep admiration for Liver and one day she was going to have to break the news to him that the man he looked up to had sided with Esdeath.

But that was for another time. As of now they still didn't know if Esdeath was dead or alive but the latter seemed highly unlikely due to the scale of the battle. There had to have been some way to track her down if she escaped…of course!

"Leone, is there any way you can track her scent?" She inquired.

Leone, who was still in her Lionelle form, began to sniff the air for any kind of scent. After several seconds, she frowned. "Sorry boss, but I got some bad news for ya. I've never smelled Esdeath before and there are like 6 other scents in the air that I can't get a good bead on. The blood trail most likely belongs to her but's it's frozen over and the scent from that is gone too. Normally I'd follow the footprints but since its snowing so hard, it's pretty much covered up the tracks by now. The trail's gone cold."

Najenda silently cursed to herself. They were now back to square one. She looked up to the thin trail of smoke that most likely came from whatever remained Prince Numa Seika's fortress to the eastern part of the north, as Bulat had previously pointed out. She could've decided to go after Esdeath but for all she knew, the Empire's Strongest was most likely dead. They needed more answers as to who was responsible.

"So what's our next move?" Lubbock asked, with everyone looking to her.

Najenda thought for a moment before issuing her orders. "We can search for Esdeath another time. Let's head over to that smoke cloud, maybe we can find the prince and other survivors."

"I think that ship has already sailed, Boss." Chelsea remarked. If things were bad back at the Capital, she seriously doubted that there would be anyone else still alive.

"We've got no choice. We all swore to help those tormented by the Empire and that includes people in the outer territories. Let's head back to our horses and move out." Najenda commanded as she and her team started to head back. But in the back of her mind, Najenda knew that there were probably no survivors left. She looked upwards at the still heavily falling snow and sighed.

"First goddamn week of winter…" She grumbled.

To be continued…

* * *

 **Let me tell you something folks, I had** _ **a lot**_ **of fun making this chapter.**

 **Mainly because The Thing was a huge inspiration for me. I really wanted to rack up the tension and suspense since Night Raid still doesn't have the faintest clue what they're up against or how powerful they are, hence the soundtrack taken from the movie as well as a reference I made Najenda say.**

 **Why do I suddenly feel like shipping R.J. MacReady and Najenda?**

 **Beyond that, it should be pretty obvious why I didn't let Daidara or Nyau live. But I do have some big plans for Esdeath and Liver…**

 **Don't forget to review but please don't flame!**


	6. Promise

**Wassup folks? Here's Chapter 6 of my series!**

 **Before I start answering your reviews I just want to ease some concerns some of you might be having.**

 **While most of you may think I had Esdeath beaten up too easily, I just want to say that there is a very good reason behind that. Don't get me wrong: Esdeath is just one of my many favorite characters in Akame ga Kill. But she's not my favorite in terms of beauty or the sheer complexity of her character; it's her strength.**

 **Esdeath is quite literally the strongest character in Akame ga Kill and it really shows. She just keeps on improving and strengthening her Teigu to the point where by the end of the manga, her power is now** _ **monstrously godlike.**_

 **But here is one important factor: Ultrabots aside, this takes place** _ **very early**_ **in the series. While she's still very strong in her own right, she does not have access to Mahapadma, her ice cavalry or that countrywide superstorm she does during the final battle in the manga.**

 **Review time!**

 **Pyromania101: Thank you very much for your comments, it really means a lot to me. I'm glad that I was able to connect with a Thing fan. In regards to your flashback comments, i will be keeping some elements a mystery or leave it up to interpretation. But I will make flashback chapters of the fall of the Empire and Esdeath's battle with the Ultrabots.**

 **Speaking of Esdeath's your suggestion about her and Tatsumi is nothing short of genus! However, this will be a Tatsumi x Mine story. But you should totally add that part in if you ever make an Akame ga Kill fanfic. I have something very big planned for Esdeath…**

 **SulliMike23: I'm not going to reveal that yet…**

 **Guest #1: FINALLY someone agrees with me! Your description of Honest was friggin hilarious! And yes, I will be adding in villains from Samurai Jack but I'm trying to sort through the ones that could fit in the world of Akame ga Kill.**

 **NRG: I would like to thank you immensely for the advice; it helped me out a lot while making this chapter.**

 **Guest #2: Unfortunately, I have no plans to include Jack in this series at all. Aku on the other hand…**

 **TheGreatMarquis: The Ultrabots are coming soon, I swear. The wait** _ **will**_ **be worth it.**

 **Rad John: Thanks. A majority of this story is heavily inspired by the episode and it helped since it was my favorite. Honestly, I don't think anybody can replace Mako. He was and always will be Aku.**

 **Dark Avenger: Im happy you asked that question! Seryu will not have the augments she received from Dr. Stylish and I will reveal that in a flashback chapter.**

 **Samurai Jack and Akame ga Kill belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Promise

NORTHERN TERRITORIES-SEVERAL HOURS LATER

Nightfall had descended upon the region with heavy clouds blotting out the moon. It was almost completely pitch black but Night Raid had lit up some torches to help light their way. They were currently heading towards the location of Prince Numa Seika's fortress, which also doubled as his castle. As their horses galloped though the thick snow, they noticed multiple hoof imprints covering the road they were trailing.

"Where did all these hoof prints come from?" Lubbock pointed out.

"They must have belonged to Esdeath's Army." Susanoo answered. As they kept riding, he noticed that the tracks suddenly stopped. "Wait!" He called out. Everyone stopped as Susanoo used his torch to illuminate the tracks that had stopped halfway into the road.

"They were getting close to Numa's fortress…but then they suddenly stopped and turned back around." Susanoo observed.

"But why? Esdeath must've had Numa on the ropes so I would only make sense to charge in and finish him off." Leone stated. Everyone turned to Leone, giving her incredulous looks.

"Not that I would _want_ her to!" Leone corrected herself while holding up her hands.

"She probably saw the smoke coming from the Capital and headed back. The Empire takes first priority over everything else so it makes sense that she would order a general retreat back to the Capital." Najenda surmised.

Decided that they lingered long enough, they continued to travel along the road while keeping their eyes peeled. As the got closer to their destination they began to notice an orange hue illuminating the forest and they could see a small portion of the fortress peeking just above. After traveling the winding road they finally made it to the front gates-

Their hearts sank.

* * *

NORTHERN TERRITORIES-PRINCE NUMA'S VILLAGE

 _(Mulan soundtrack-Burnt-Out Village)_

It was just like the Capital.

Smoke billowed into the air as fire consumed the village in front of them. Since they were all made of wood, the houses had gone up in flames like a tinderbox. The charred frames of the abodes reminded Night Raid of blackened skeletons. The corpses of numerous villagers and northern soldiers littered the snow covered ground. Nearly all of the snow in the village had been turned red.

The fortress did not fare much better as well. Sections of the walls were destroyed and the reinforced doors had been blown apart. One could only guess that the interior of the fortress was just as bad as the exterior. Another important detail that Night Raid noticed were the same odd, rectangular footprints they kept seeing all over the village.

 _They_ had been through here.

The team tied the horses to a nearby post and solemnly walked through the decimated village. While the body count probably wasn't as high as the Capital, it was still a soul wrenching sight to see. For as long as they could remember they thought that they were only good at killing the malicious scumbags that made the citizens in the Capital suffer. Trying to find any survivors and attempt to piece together what was going on was something completely new and alien to them. For the first time, they had been effectively knocked straight out of their "comfort zones".

Sheele spotted something on the ground. She knelt down and picked up a small ragdoll that had been stained with blood. Just like in the Capital, not even children were spared from this group's horrific onslaught. She gently cradled the doll against her chest. It was just…too much.

Night Raid had the exact same reaction as her. They were rendered utterly speechless. This wasn't just the result of a battle or some form of scare tactic to demoralize an enemy army. This was pure, unrestrained, unmerciful culling of the worst kind.

They continued to walk through the ruined village until they came upon a hillside. They walked up the hill to see the rest of the village was bathed in flames that stretched for miles and the very earth was a sea of dead bodies, all of them villagers and soldiers.

"This…is madness…" Bulat whispered, his expression one of shock and horror.

Najenda ran her fingers through her hair and shut her eye as hard as she could. It became obvious that there were no survivors. Her frustration was close to sending her over the edge. But now was not the time. If they could at least find some kind of lead or evidence that could lead them to whoever was responsible, and _maybe_ they could figure out what to do next. "It's obvious that we're not going to find any survivors. Let's split up and see if can find some clues."

"Same song and dance, huh?" Leone quipped.

"You have any better ideas?" Najenda snapped, giving her a nasty look.

Leone held her tongue, not wanting to piss her boss off any further.

"Lubbock, Susanoo, Bulat, Leone and I will search the fortress. Akame, Mine, Chelsea, Sheele and Tatsumi will scour the village."

* * *

PRINCE NUMA'S VILLAGE-40 MINUETS LATER

Tatsumi and Mine were currently observing the footprints that belonged to the perpetrators of this atrocity while Sheele and Chelsea went off together to search for clues as well. Akame remained with Tatsumi and Mine but was mostly distant.

"Hmmmm…look at how sunken in these footprints are. These guys had to have been really heavy to make tracks go this deep." Mine observed as she placed her hand in the footprint.

"They also must be wearing some kind of strange footwear to make them so odd looking." Tatsumi added.

"Heh. Guess these guys aren't big on fashion." She said snidely.

"By the way, I found these bullet casing littered around here. Funny thing is, some of these look a little bit different than the others I found." Tatsumi said holding out a couple of spent casings. Mine took them and inspected them carefully. Some of them were regular sized ones for standard issue rifles but the rest was noticeably larger and heavier. They were almost as big as her hand!

Mine whistled. "I've never seen bullets like these before. These guys must've been packing some serious firepower." She continued to look it over when she noticed Tatsumi spacing out. Rolling her eyes, she flicked his ear. Tatsumi flinched and turned to Mine, giving her a confused look. "Are you still with us?" Mine asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's just…im just thinking about my village." Tatsumi admitted, his expression downcast.

Mine's annoyance instantly faded. She and everyone else knew how much his village meant to him and with this recent turn of events, it was only natural for him to be concerned.

"They live far away from here. Way deep into the north." Tatsumi continued. "It's safe. If it wasn't, I would've known by now. It's a rural, relatively small village so I don't think whoever did this would bother attacking it."

Mine could tell that there was something else behind his forlorn demeanor. She could see it in his eyes. "You're thinking about how to break the news to your people, right?"

Tatsumi's shoulders sagged and his face saddened. Mine couldn't help but feel a little sad for him as well. Which was very rare for her but lately she had grown accustomed to their newest member and they were friends after all. Night Raid was like a family to her (including a certain green haired perv) and that meant they all had to help each other.

"Look, you can't keep beating yourself up for that. You had no idea just how f***ed up the Empire was and neither did your friends. I'm sure that everyone will grieve just like you did but they won't blame you for it. They _will_ understand and they will _never_ abandon you" Mine assured him.

A smile began to form on Tatsumi's features. "Thanks." He said quietly. He had no idea that Mine had such a caring side to her. Maybe there was more to the pinkette than he originally thought.

"Well, I've already said my comforting words. Now it's time to say yours." She said bluntly while placing her hands on her hips.

"Uhh…what?"

Mine responded by flicking Tatsumi's forehead. "I want you to talk to Akame you dolt!"

"Akame? Why her-"

Mine flicked him again, this time on the nose.

"Stop doing that!" He yelled.

"Can't help it!" She retorted. "I heard Akame yelling about something back at the palace. Did you do something to her?"

"N-no! Of course not!" Tatsumi said defensively. He began to tell Mine the reason behind Akame's distant behavior ever since he, Leone and Susanoo investigated the palace a couple days before. Mine understandably took this to heart.

"Seeing as how Akame thinks highly of you, you should probably go find her and just ask her what's been bugging her. It's only fair that you go comfort her since you were there in the first , I already did my part by comforting you." She instructed.

"You're right. I mean, all of us are friends after all." Tatsumi said optimistically.

"Now _that's_ what I like to hear. Now go to her before I decide to flick you again." Mine warned.

"Alright, alright." Tatsumi said as he went to go look for Akame. As he went on, he heard Mine call out to him. "Don't get too lovey dovey with her!"

Tatsumi barely suppressed a groan as he quickened his pace.

* * *

PRINCE NUMA'S VILLAGE- 3 MINUETS LATER

After several minutes of searching, Tatsumi found Akame investigating several dead soldiers. Tatsumi quietly walked over to her and was about to ask what she found-

"Have you and Mine discovered anything of importance?" She asked.

' _Should've known I couldn't sneak up on her. She is an assassin after all…_ ' Tatsumi thought as he sweatdropped. "Yup. We found some unusually large bullets. Mine thinks that this group might be using some kind of heavy weaponry."

"I see…it would seem that not only does this group possess multiple Teigu's but they also seem to be utilizing advanced equipment." Akame deduced. "Speaking of weapons, take a look at this."

Akame handed Tatsumi several bullets and a sword that had be broken in half. But upon closer inspection it seemed that the bullets had bounced off of something, turning them into crumpled, lead pebbles. The same could be said for the sword as there were multiple chips on it, making it look like someone had repeatedly hit it over a metal surface several times.

"What made them look like this?" Tatsumi wondered.

Akame wordlessly pointed to the snow. Tatsumi saw the iconic footprints of the perpetrators but what caught his attention were the dead bodies, deflected bullets and broken swords were _in front_ of the footprints.

"I believe they were using some type of durable armor. Whether it was a conventional shield or a Teigu, I'm not exactly sure." Akame said, her eyes intensely focused.

It wasn't much to go on but it did give some insight as to what kind of offensive capabilities this unknown party wielded. But right now, Tatsumi figured that this was a good time to ask Akame what was eating at her since they left the Capital.

"So…you want to tell me what's wrong you lately? You've been pretty distant ever since we investigated the palace." Tatsumi started.

Akame visibly flinched. "Nothing is wrong. Im perfectly fine-"

Akame suddenly felt Tatsumi's hands grip her shoulders and he spun her around to face him. "Yes there _is_ something wrong! I'm your friend and i want to help you Akame but I can't unless I know what it is!" He pleaded.

Akame stared wide-eyed at Tatsumi, realization spreading on her face. She looked hesitant to answer but she knew that she couldn't keep this from him forever. Akame lowered her head, her hair casting a shadow over her eyes. "Have the others told you about my past?" She asked.

"Yeah. Leone filled me in on most of the details." He answered.

 _(Super Mario Bros Z soundtrack-Daily Agony loop)_

"She didn't tell you everything…" Akame said cryptically. "Yatsufusa belonged to my younger sister, Kurome. She was…not as strong as me. Where I excelled in combat, she didn't. To make up for her shortcomings, the Empire sent Kurome beneath the Imperial Capital and injected her with all kinds of drugs."

Tatsumi went rigid. Did she just say drugs?

"That crushed bag of cookies you saw back at the Capital? They were laced with the very same drugs she was administered." She grimly told him. Tatsumi did in fact remember seeing just that back at the palace but he never thought they were actually filled with harmful chemicals. "What kind of drugs are we talking about?" He gulped.

"She was prescribed a cocktail mix of several different drugs that strengthened and developed her muscles but they also substantially shortened her lifespan and they also placed a huge strain on her brain. Eventually she joined an assassination group separate from mine known as The Group of Terror and given Yatsufusa. However, it made her condition _worse_. It requires an immense amount of concentration to control just one corpse puppet. One can only image how much it takes to control _multiple_ puppets. As time went by, I knew it was only a matter of time before her mind and her heart gradually became warped." Akame explained solemnly.

Tatsumi was at a loss for words. His palms were shaking and sweaty. He knew that the Empire had done some pretty atrocious acts but putting a sibling through something like this…it was pure evil.

"I tried to get her to stop taking those drugs but Kurome's body had become so addicted to them she reached the point of no return. Without those drugs, she would endure severe spasms and uncontrollable seizures." Akame continued.

"So is that why you left the Empire?" Tatsumi guessed.

"Yes. But there were multiple other reasons for my defection. The group that I used to work with, The Elite 7, was much like Night Raid. Its members were…my friends. I watched them die in front of my eyes one by one throughout my service in the Empire. Looking in on it from the outside…from an entirely different perspective…I began to have my doubts. I realized that the tyranny of the Empire just might be the actual cause of the suffering of its people. Soon, after witnessing several encounters and events firsthand, my inquisitive suspicions turned into unwavering convictions. I could no longer, in good conscious, follow the Empire so I withdrew." Akame revealed.

Tatsumi had listened to her explanation for defecting with rapt attention. At least he now had a good idea on why she left. But then there was still her sister. "Did you invite Kurome to come with you?"

"Yes. There a place known as God's Secret Hot Spring in the borderlands. To put it simply, it's a place of healing, made up of all different kinds of therapeutic and medicinal hot springs. I surmised that if I could care for her while she was going through her detox then there might be some hope in extending Kurome's lifespan."

"Wait a minute…I've heard of something like that! My village elder told me stories of how people with just a few years left to live due to a disease went to those springs and went on to live for just a few more years ,maybe even longer, afterwards! But he said that those were just rumors…"

"At first I thought the same thing as well. But I found documented reports that such a place did exist and it _is_ capable of extending a person's lifespan. I figured as long as the possibility wasn't zero, then it was something worth trying." Akame concluded.

Tatsumi didn't know what he should be surprised at the most: The hot springs his elder told him were actually real or Akame showing this much care and affection for someone. But then again, she did show genuine concern for him after his successful assassination of Ogre and this was her sister they were talking about. But somewhere in the back of Tatsumi's mind, this story did not have good ending. "You must've asked her to come with you at some point in the past, right?"

Akame's face saddened considerably. If anything, she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I pleaded…no. I _begged_ her to withdraw from the Imperial Army to free herself from those drugs and to search for some possibility to extend her life. But Kurome said that doing so would be a betrayal to our fallen comrades. The very thought of her current comrades becoming her enemies was more than she could bear. So she refused to leave the Empire. What I should've done was take her with me, even if it meant doing so by force. I should've shown more resolve and gone through with my plans but…it was impossible. I didn't have the strength or courage." She explained with a horribly pained face.

Tatsumi couldn't believe he was hearing this. Akame not strong or not having any courage!? She was probably the most courageous, fearless member of Night Raid and there were times that he thought that she was stronger than Bulat! At the same time he almost understood Kurome's reason for not leaving the Empire. It was a shame she couldn't see how insidious it really was.

"And then there was Natala. That was the name of the corpse you saw me looking at a few days earlier. He was inducted into the same program me and my sister went through. He was kind, cared for us deeply and he was our…best friend. But just like Kurome, he wasn't strong enough and was sent to the underground like her. Eventually he was placed in the same assassination group she was in. Somewhere during his service…he died. And Kurome brought him back as a puppet. I confronted her over this but she didn't seem the least bit bothered. Instead…she looked happy. She said that he was watching over and protecting her just like he did when we were kids. It was at that point when I realized that my little sister truly was gone."

Tatsumi felt all the color drain from his face and his blood ran cold.

"For Kurome, fighting for the sake of her comrades and completing the Empires missions…I believe those are her reasons for living. In her mind, all she's ever known is to keep fighting for the Empire…all while being broken down by the drugs with what little bit of life she has left. And if that was what she truly wanted…then I would fight her and end her suffering. As her sister, this was the only thing I could do for her. It was also my only condition for joining the Rebel Army: anything pertaining to my sister would be directly handled by me." She finished while turning her back to Tatsumi.

Tatsumi was left confused. He understood the fighting part but what did she mean by end her…no…oh God no!

"You mean…You mean to say that you would actually kill your own sister!?" Tatsumi shouted.

"There's no other choice." Was her only reply.

He was about to argue with her about her decisions when something finally clicked in his head. Something that had been slowly crawling up from the depths of his subconscious as Akame went into more detail about her sister. "Wait. Back when we were fighting Zanku, he showed you an illusion. That was your sister, wasn't it?!"

" _The one I love the most in this world is the one I wish to kill the most."_

Akame was completely silent.

"But-but you don't have to kill her now!" Tatsumi protested. "The Empire is gone and Yatsufusa has been destroyed!"

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?!" Akame spat. "Without those drugs she's slowly dying!"

Tatsumi began to notice her shoulders beginning to shake as she began to clutch her arms.

"I thought I could keep it together. Try to focus on the mission at hand…But I just can't." She said, her voice sorrowful and shaking. Tatsumi silently walked up to her and reached his hand out when Akame spoke again.

"Watching all of your comrades die…seeing your best friend turned into a mindless zombie…knowing that your sister is out there somewhere dying a slow and painful death…"

She turned to Tatsumi showing him that she was actually crying, tears streaming from her eyes and her face contorted into utter sadness.

"There's no way you can _ever_ get used to this kind of pain!" she sobbed. She finally collapsed to the ground on her knees and began weeping into her hands.

Tatsumi was as still as a statue, his features of shock, realization and remorse. He had completely forgotten that this job came with both danger _and_ heartbreak.

' _To think that Akame was this concerned for her sister…and I used to think that she always remained composed towards anything!'_ He thought. _'What am I doing!? I'm such a fool!'_

 _WHOK_

Akame suddenly looked up just in time to see Tatsumi punch himself in the face and topple to the ground!

"Tatsumi! What are you-"

"Don't worry. I'm just punishing myself for being such a jackass." Tatsumi said as he picked himself up.

"…What?"

 _(Finding Nemo soundtrack-Nemo Egg)_

"I'm sorry. When I first joined I always thought that nothing could faze you in the slightest, but I was proven wrong. I didn't mean to think any less of you. I was completely thoughtless." He admitted. "You're just like me. You fight for your sister and I fight to help my people but we both fight for a better future."

He walked over and gently helped Akame up.

"I never realized how much you care for your comrades and how much they mean to you…I guess I probably should've known that sooner after my fight with Ogre. I'll make you this promise: I will not die. I will stay alive and I'll make sure you never have to experience this kind of pain ever again!" He swore.

Slowly but surely Akame began to smile as her sadness was replaced with relief and hope. She wiped away the tears from her eyes and regarded Tatsumi with a lighthearted look on her face.

"We'll find your sister, stop these guys and we'll make a new country where we can see everyone's smiling faces." Tatsumi assured her.

"Yeah…thank you." Akame said softly. The two looked at look at other with proud, determined expressions when a voice suddenly call out-

"You may now kiss the bride!"

Tatsumi and Akame jolted like they were struck by lightning. They turned their heads to the right to see Chelsea leaning up against a tree grinning mischievously. "Seriously, you two are the perfect couple!"

"N-n-n-no! I-it's not what you think!" Tatsumi stammered.

"We were just…um…talking." Akame corrected, her face just as flushed as Tatsumi's.

"Really? Because that's not how I saw it~." Chelsea chimed.

They all heard a yelp of surprise and saw something fall from behind the tree. It was Sheele! The wielder of Extase was sprawled out on the ground and missing her glasses. "I wasn't listening in I swear!" She said frantically. Her face was beet red. "Can somebody help me find my glasses?" Sheele bashfully asked as she searched the ground.

"Only _you_ can trip while hiding." Chelsea sighed as she picked up her glasses and gave it to her.

"You know that kind of thing was going to happen sooner or later." Another voice called out. It belonged to Mine who walking over to the group. "I came here to see if Tatsumi kept his word and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest."

"You heard everything?" Tatsumi asked, wide eyed.

"Yup." Mine nodded.

"Same here." Sheele said, raising her hand.

"Guilty~!" Chelsea sang.

Akame and Tatsumi looked at the ground, too embarrassed to say anything. That's when Tatsumi felt Mine patting him on the back. "Nice job on cheering up Akame though. As a team, it really means a lot to us."

"Very true. We all know that Akame has had it rough in the past and im glad you made her feel better." Sheele added. Akame smiled at that. While Sheele may be clumsy and airheaded sometimes, she excelled in providing emotional support.

"I knew there was another reason why Najenda hired you. I just didn't think you were such a motivational speaker!" Chelsea said.

"And then _you_ ruined the moment." Mine huffed.

"And you think you can do better?" Chelsea retorted. "In fact, let me answer that for you!" Before Mine could say anything else, Chelsea instantly transformed into Mine! But something was very, _very_ off.

"Im sorry I've been so mean to you, Tatsumi!" She said in a very cutesy voice. Mine _never_ did that. Tatsumi barely had time to register what the hell was going on before Chelsea/Mine suddenly hugged him tightly and looked up at him with starry eyes. It made everyone increasingly uncomfortable.

"I just couldn't express my true feelings! Hold me…" She said, this time in a dreamy voice.

Tatsumi's brain stopped working.

Sheele's jaw was slightly agape.

Akame remained strangely calm during the whole thing, having gotten used to Chelsea and Mine's rivalry.

Mine's left eye began to twitch and an evil grin began to form on her face. "You know, I've always wondered if you're capable of transforming into something so miniscule you'd be able to dodge my shots." Maine said maliciously as she unslung Pumpkin from her back.

Chelsea changed back into her regular self and slowly unsheathed several kunai from Gaea Foundation. "You better put that back in your purse." She taunted.

Akame moved in between the two, diffusing the fight before it escalated. "Have you all forgotten that we have mission to do here?" Akame asked rhetorically. Knowing that she was right, Mine and Chelsea put their weapons away. Akame started off by telling Mine, Chelsea and Sheele what she had found, which was followed by Tatsumi and Mine telling them what they discovered as well.

"Huh. Guess these guys aren't playing around. Kind of makes me wonder what their goal is…" Chelsea mused.

"We have also found something of interest in our search as well. We found some tracks that came from the group that split up. The mostly go all over the village and maybe even the fortress but get this: we found evidence that after they were done, they went to go help the rest of their team fighting Esdeath." Sheele revealed.

"We saw tracks that lead away from the village and deeper into the forest. These guys are clever. _Very_ clever." Chelsea added.

"We should probably go report our findings to the boss. These clues might be helpful." Akame suggested. Nodding in agreement, everyone began to make their way towards the remains of the fortress where the rest of Night Raid was investigating. As Tatsumi began walking he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Mine, who was smiling broadly. "Thanks for helping Akame. I guess there more to you than meets the eye, Tatsumi."

Tatsumi rubbed the back of head." I guess it just comes naturally to me." He replied.

' _I guess you're not complete wimp after all.'_ Mine thought while lifting her coat collar upwards to hide her blushing face. The two after walked a little faster to catch up to the rest of the girls when a hand suddenly shot out of the snow and grabbed Mine's ankle!

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" She screamed.

To be continued.

* * *

 **Exposition, exposition, rush it out A-S-A-P!**

 **Not going to lie folks, that was going through my head when I was making this chapter.**

 **I began to realize that in order to continue this story; I needed to include important character development moments. Of course, it was hard since I had completely rearranged the timeline so I had to go back and read the manga several hundred times to get a good idea of what to do. I really hope i got most of it down right, let me know in the reviews.**

 **I would like to thank NRG for helping me out with the Mine x Tatsumi pairing. Because of this major change of events, I wanted to explore alternate ways of Mine developing feelings for Tatsumi. But like I said before, I'm not good at romance.**

 **I Think I nailed Mine and Chelsea's rivalry really good, along with a cameo from Night Raid theater.**

 **With that being said, I'll leave you guys with a cliffhanger.**

 **Don't forget to review but please don't flame!**


	7. Trauma

**WAZZZUUUUPPPPP! Im sorry, is that old now? Here's the 7** **th** **chapter!**

 **Well fellow readers, it's finally over. After 6 long years since its release in 2010, Akame ga Kill has closed the book with its 78** **th** **chapter. It's been a wild ride, folks. I gotta say, it has a much better ending than the anime and while I still think the major character deaths were way too overused, i enjoyed it from beginning to end and I'm proud that I managed to stick with it for so long. Hope you all feel the same!**

 **I realize that I've kind of been dragging this whole thing for a little bit too long and I know that many of you want to see the Ultrabots but I swear there is just one more chapter after this one and the Ultrabots will finally make their long awaited appearance. I'm happy that you all managed to stay patient.**

 **Review Time!**

 **Pyromania101: I understand that wholeheartedly and I think it's funny too! Thank you for telling me about the fortress, I made the corrections in this chapter.**

 **Sullimike23: You will find out who when you read!**

 **Guest #1: YES. 100% YES TO ALL FOUR. About posting two reviews, no problem dude.**

 **00Altair: Thank you for giving my story a look see and the Ultrabots will show up, I swear.**

 **Thaqif: I actually have plans on changing the Ultrabots voices. They sounded threatening when we first heard them a long time ago but now they just seem kind of hammy. I will be searching for a new, more threatening voice for all of them and I will make them more malicious than they were in the episode. Find out who grabbed Mine's ankle as you read on! Also, it's 19 Ultrabots now.**

 **NRG: Thank you for the advice concerning Wave and Kurome as well as the other Jaegers. You have been an amazing help with this story and I don't think I could've done any of this without your helpful advice. Thank you again, hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year!**

 **Guest #2: I have plans on going back to that, don't worry. I will do one more chapter of this and I will go back to working on my Evangelion/Godzilla crossover story.**

 **Akame ga Kill and Samurai Jack belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

* * *

Chapter 7

Trauma

PRINCE NUMA'S FORTRESS-INNER CITY

 _(Resident Evil 3 soundtrack-The City Without Hope)_

When you look at the massive fortress of the northern capital, you would think that it was just some regular old, oversized fort meant to deter invaders. But in reality, it also housed a small city within its gigantic walls and it also doubled as a castle. It was quite the sight to behold but now, it was a demolished shell of its former glory.

The walls had been completely blown apart and the defensive positions covering the walls were effortlessly wrecked. It was like they all had no effect against whoever was attacking the fortress. The interior was a whole other story. It was nothing short of a total slaughter. Buildings lay in ruins while even more bodies of northern soldiers and innocent civilians covered nearly every inch of the city. It wasn't a big as the Capital or its districts but it was still just as horrible.

Leone, Bulat and Susanoo were teamed up again as they scoured the city while Najenda and Lubbock searched the ramparts of the fortress walls. As the trio explored the ruined city, the same feelings they had when they explored the southern district of the Capital came back.

Shock.

Sadness.

Failure.

They quietly walked through the streets of the empty city. The massacred bodies of the people living here dominated their eyes. The sight alone would've made anyone flee for their lives and move to a different country but Night Raid was braver than that. They had a mission to do…no matter how pointless it seemed.

They eventually came upon the main courtyard. The saw more horribly massacred corpses and the still flowing fountain was now filled with red-stained water. But there were several things that Leone, Bulat and Susanoo began to notice. There were multiple tables flipped over, an assortment of food littering the ground and dozens of broken bottles filled with wine or beer.

"Looks like these guys were having some kind of shindig." Leone guessed as she picked up a broken bottle. She saw that it was a particularly popular brand of alcohol. She frowned; it was a waste of good booze. She saw that some of the bodies on the ground wore butler and maid outfits. She cocked an eyebrow.

"But why would they hold a party? Wasn't Esdeath almost at their doorstep?" Bulat questioned.

"Dunno. We'll probably never know since I doubt there's anyone alive. Hey Mr. Su, what do you think?" Leone called out. When she didn't receive an answer she and Bulat turned around to see the humanoid Teigu looking over several dead soldiers slumped against the wall of a destroyed house. They walked over to him, wondering what was wrong.

"Some of these men killed themselves." He confirmed. Bulat and Leone threw him a disturbed look. He pointed to the weapons that were in their hands. Most of them were pistols and knives. Leone bent down and took a closer look. Some of their throats were slit while the rest and bullet holes in the sides of their heads.

"You're right. Most of these are self-inflicted. They took their own lives rather than face whoever attacked. What a way to go…" Leone said mournfully as she shook her head.

 _THWACK_

Bulat suddenly punched the wall causing Leone and Susanoo to turn their heads towards him. The man was shaking and his features were one of anger and frustration.

"Damn it all…it's the same thing everywhere we go! Why the hell are they doing this?! What even happened here?!" He demanded.

"I do not know, old friend. But one shudders to imagine what atrocities took place here. What images of sustained and abominable cruelty?" Susanoo said grimly.

Leone looked towards the bloody devastation before her and gulped. What the hell were they up against?

* * *

PRINCE NUMA'S FORTRESS-RAMPART ARMORY

 _(Resident Evil 2 soundtrack-The Library)_

After exploring the ramparts and finding nothing of interest, Najenda and Lubbock went downstairs to explore the armory. They walked through the gore smattered hallways while stepping over the butchered forms of numerous northern soldiers that had met their grisly end. They cautiously opened the main door to the armory and they instantly wrinkled their noses in disgust when the stench of death entered their nostrils. They saw more bodies vivisected in ways they couldn't even describe and the whole floor was wet with blood. Several swords and assorted firearms were scattered across the room.

The one thing that really got their attention, as well as unnerve them further, was several messages written in blood on the walls.

 _WE ARE ALL DOOMED_

 _ABANDON ALL HOPE_

 _GOD HAS FORSAKEN US_

Najenda shook her head. All of this was like something out of a horror story. There was no reasoning, no explanation, and no proper motive behind these methodic killings. It was like Zanku all over again but on an entirely different level. As she looked around the room she noticed Lubbock looking out the window, most likely staring that the flaming remains of the village outside. She noticed that there was a glint of fear in his eyes. Letting out an inaudible sigh, she walked over to Lubbock.

"How are you holding up?" She asked, instantly getting his attention.

"Me? Oh…uh…well im pretty confident we'll stop these guys if we-"

"You're scared Lubbock. I can tell." She interrupted. Lubbock's features fell.

"Yeah…I guess I am. It's just that we still don't know who is doing this and why. I mean, we've seen a lot of death ever since we formed Night Raid but this…" He trailed off, gesturing to the bodies.

"I know what you mean. Back in my imperial days I always saw this sort of thing daily when the truth about the Empire became more apparent to me and you know what? I was scared too. I was only scared a little bit but I always still felt a twinge of fear. However, I learned to accept that fear rather than just try to ignore it or hide it away. I just simply accepted it and overtime, it began to go away on its own. You could try doing that if it helps." Najenda advised, giving him a smile.

That instantly perked up Lubbock who began blushing. "Thanks. "He said, rubbing his arm. "Don't worry about a thing now, I'll make sure we get down to the bottom of this mystery and I'll watch your back for as long as I need to!" Lubbock said proudly while thumbing his chest.

Najenda gave him a slight grin of satisfaction. _'You were probably waiting for this moment for a long time, eh Lubbock? I always knew you had feelings for me the first time we met. You do know you're not good at hiding that, right? This is not the right time to fall in love, especially with everything going on. But I have been known to be very committed so if all of us do make it out of this…maybe that might be nice.'_ She thought internally.

 _CRASH_

Najenda and Lubbock snapped their heads towards a heavy looking door at the far end of the room with the words "Ammunition Storage" written above the door. There were multiple decapitated bodies slumped up against the door and it had several scratch marks all over the front. Lubbock whipped out multiple wires from Cross Tail and formed them into several throwing knives. Najenda pumped her prosthetic arm like a shotgun, which activated the heavy machinegun function in her upgraded arm. Her wrist open up to reveal a weapon barrel and several bullets running into it via an ammo belt in her arm.

They cautiously made their way over to the door and the both of them got on each side, preparing to breach it. Najenda and Lubbock gave each other a brief nod before the founder of Night Raid slammed her prosthetic fist straight through the door, grabbed the handle on the other side and wrenched the door straight off its hinges.

They head a terrified cry inside the room and saw a frightened female soldier hiding behind a flipped over table. The woman had brown, waist length hair and was dressed in northern soldier attire. She was caked in blood and wielding a revolver in her trembling hands. She was shaking all over and her eyes were wide with crazed fear. Tears stained her freckled cheeks.

"GET AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed, pointing the gun directly at them.

The duo instantly held up their hands as a gesture of non-aggression.

"Woah, woah, woah! Easy!" Najenda yelled.

"Take it slow, lady!" Lubbock added.

"DON'T TAKE ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS ME! I SWEAR I'LL SHOOT!"

Lubbock and Najenda took a step back, not wanting to provoke her any further. For several seconds nobody moved an inch until the woman started to calm down. "A-a-are t-they g-g-g-gone?" She stammered.

"It's just us, ma'am. You're safe." Najenda assured her.

"Are you okay? Can you tell us what happened?" Lubbock inquired.

The woman's eyes started darting about left and right. "They…they just came out of nowhere…before we knew it, the village and set ablaze and we were under attack. I-I-I was up on the wall. We were all firing at them but our weapons had no effect…before we knew it they were upon us and we were b-b-b-being cut down left and right!" She babbled, her revolver making audible clacking sounds as she shook.

"Me a-a-and several others ran in here…we could hear them coming down the steps…I p-p-p-panicked and locked the door behind me. I could hear one of those things tear them apart as they b-b-banged on the door! And then I heard them destroying the inner city! They just started killing everyone! The screaming, OH GOD THE SCREAMING!" she wailed while tears streamed down her face.

The two Night Raid members didn't know where they should feel bad for this woman or be mad at her for leaving her comrades to die. But seeing as how traumatized she was, they could only feel sympathy for her and the least they could do was help her. But what did she mean when she called the ones who attacked the fortress "things" and why didn't their weapons have any effect on them? The sooner they got answers from her the better but first, they needed to calm her down.

"Ma'am, you're safe now and we will do everything we can to help you. Just try to relax, put the gun down and calm yourself." Najenda said quietly as she slowly moved towards her.

The Woman's face looked hopeful but suddenly changed into utter, inconsolable sorrow. "No…no….no….." She whimpered. Lubbock slowly followed Najenda's lead, hoping to get the woman to lower her weapon and trust them. The woman looked up to them with a saddened, completely hopeless expression.

"You're all going to die…." She whimpered as she put the barrel of the revolver in her mouth!

"NO!" Najenda yelled as she rushed towards her.

Lubbock instantly flung out several wires towards the woman in an attempt to wrench the gun out of her hands…but he was too late.

 _ **BLAM**_

 _THWUMP_

Najenda and Lubbock stared at the body with a look utter shock. Najenda's face suddenly contorted into pure anger and viscously punched the ground, leaving a large fist indentation.

"GOD F***ING DAMMIT!" She roared. They were so close to getting answers!

"Boss…I-I'm sorry. I wasn't fast enough…"Lubbock said sorrowfully as he ran his hand through his hair. He looked at the ground, unable to look her in the eye. He heard Najenda walking over to him, most likely about to chew him out for his failure. But instead of that, he felt a hand on his shoulder and lifted his head up to see Najenda giving him a sympathetic look.

"It's not your fault." She said softly.

* * *

PRINCE NUMA'S FORTRESS-INNER CITY

Najenda and Lubbock exited the ramparts and began to walk towards the city when the saw Leone, Bulat, and Susanoo running towards them.

"Master! We heard a gunshot! Are you okay?" Susanoo worriedly asked.

Lubbock threw him a condescending look. "What about _me_?" He griped.

"We found a survivor but she…took her own life." Najenda said, her features crestfallen.

"It's the same in this city as well." Bulat revealed. "This group must be using some kind of terror tactics to demoralize their adversaries."

"Mabye…" Najenda said, cupping her chin in thought. They soon began to hear the sounds of footsteps approaching from behind them and turned around to see Tatsumi, Akame, Mine, Sheele and Chelsea come in through the large gates of the city. What caught their eyes was that Tatsumi was dragging a large sled with somebody on it.

"Get over here! This guy needs help really bad!" Mine shouted.

The rest of the team ran over to get a better look. Lying on the sled was a man in his mid 20's wearing heavily damaged battle armor with ripped up clothing underneath. He had a slim build and slick, black hair. He had a large gash in his chest and all some parts of his face as well as his fingers had turned a dark purple. He also wore a metal headpiece with a cross-like symbol in the center.

Najenda instantly recognized that symbol! "It's Prince Numa!" She exclaimed.

"Get out of here! Really?!" Leone asked.

"That symbol is a mark of northern royalty. It's him alright. Where did you find him?"

"We found him as we were heading back to you guys. He was buried under the snow." Chelsea explained.

"We need to get him inside. The cold isn't doing him any favors."

* * *

PRINCE NUMA'S BED CHAMBER-3 HOURS LATER.

Night Raid headed to the other end of the city which led to the palace of the northern fortress. It wasn't as big or glorious to look at like the imperial palace but it was still just as magnificent. They got inside and traversed the decorated hallways until they found Numa's royal bedroom. Susanoo stayed behind to give the wounded prince medical attention while the rest of Night Raid searched the palace. For some strange reason, the castle was largely untouched and there weren't any bodies. After exploring the castle for several hours, they all rendezvoused outside the prince's bed chamber and relayed their findings in the city and the village.

"I see…so they might be using advanced weaponry. They could also be using Teigus on top of those too." Najenda surmised.

"But where did that get that kind of gear?" Leone wondered.

"There is the southern country of Vrelaka." Chelsea guessed. "They are a heavily industrialized nation so maybe that's where they got their weapons at. As for the Teigus, I'm not really sure…maybe they fell into their hands."

"Would this nation really want to see this country burn?" Tatsumi asked.

"Think of it this way, bro. The 4 countries that surround this one are nowhere near as horribly corrupt as the Empire; they all have their secrets and motives…" Bulat explained. Everyone let that fact sink in. They still didn't know who this group was but now there was the factor that they might have been _hired_ by someone outside of the Empire's boundaries. After they successfully eliminated this group, Night Raid had to do an _extensive_ investigation as to why they were here and if they actually were hired then they had to know which country they worked for.

The heard a door opening and saw Susanoo exit the bed chamber. Everyone looked to him, expecting an answer of the prince's condition. He shut eyes and solemnly shook his head. "It's not good. His wounds are fatal; he's lost a lot of blood, not to mention internal hemorrhaging and severe frostbite."

"How long does he have?" Akame asked.

"He'll be dead within the hour. I know he's already dying but this may be our only chance to ask him what happened and identify who this group is." He advised.

Susanoo was right. When were they ever going to get the chance to finally know what was going on? They all quietly entered the room and took their coats off. Susanoo had gotten a fire going in the bedroom's massive fireplace on the left wall which illuminated the whole room. The room itself certainly was fit for a prince. Wallpaper and carpets with dazzling designs, portraits of the prince in all of his (slightly exaggerated) glory and highly expensive furniture that would make any noble horribly jealous. There was also a large desk on the right side of the room with numerous stacks of paper and a map of the country.

But their main focus was the large bed at the other end of the room. And there, lying in that bed was the prince of the northern tribes. Numa looked absolutely terrible. He was very pale, was shivering underneath the covers and both of his hands were heavily bandaged. His face was an expression of pain and near death. Everyone stood by the side of his bed, their features forlorn and sorrowful.

Najenda silently pulled up a chair near the prince and sat down. She gently took his hand, noting that even in the warm room it still felt cold. Numa creaked open his eyes and looked at the people near his bedside.

"You…are Night Raid….aren't you?" He asked weakly.

Najenda nodded. "Good to finally meet you in person."

"The feeling is…mutual." He replied, giving her a small smirk. He then turned towards Mine. "I…apologize if I...scared you."

"No harm done." Mine replied quietly. Numa gave her a smile and turned back to Najenda.

"I…suppose all of…you want to know…what happened here?" He guessed.

"If it's not too much trouble." Najenda said, still holding his hand.

"No trouble at all…I know my end is near so I will tell…you everything before…I leave this mortal coil." Numa said as the group gathered closer.

"It was several days ago…we had been successful in stalling General Esdeath for as…long as we could but she just kept pushing further and further…towards my fortress. She was closing in on us…and we were ready to mount a vigorous…defense. But then we heard a massive explosion…coming from the Capital and several more following after that. You…could hear it all the way…from over here. That's when Esdeath began to retreat…back to the Empire. I sent several scouts to the mountains so that they could get a better view and ascertain what was happening. They reported that…the Capital was being besieged…we thought it was the Revolutionary Army and we celebrated the end of the corrupt Empire. I had all my servants prepare a feast for…all of my soldiers and my people. I even had the servants themselves join in as well." He revealed.

Leone remembered seeing bodies that were differently dressed from the villagers and soldiers. That must've explained why the castle was so empty.

"We laughed and cheered amongst ourselves for days. We were all finally free from the wretched shackles of the Empire…and then….and then…" Prince Numa began to trail off as his eyes widened in horror.

"And then what?" Najenda pressed.

 _(Resident Evil 2 soundtrack-Police Station Basement)_

" _They_ came from the shadows…and our laughter was drowned in blood. They attacked my village and the fortress at the same time…we tried to defend ourselves…but our attempts were futile. Our bullets and blades bounced off of their armor…and their weapons were unlike anything I've ever seen. I tried to fight one of them but…my efforts were all for naught. I was fatally wounded. They were going to finish me off but they knew I would…eventually die and they… turned their attention to the rest of my soldiers and my…people." He rasped. Steadily growing fear was evident in his voice.

Night Raid was visibly tensing up when they heard the story. They began to visualize the events in their heads. Homes set aflame, buildings demolished like cheap cardboard, soldiers ripped apart one by one and helpless villagers screaming bloody murder as they were ruthlessly killed.

"We didn't stand a chance…they were… _relentless._ They destroyed my village, my fortress and the city…all of it. Then…left as…mysteriously as they came." He finished.

Tatsumi began to ball his fits as he gritted his teeth in anger. "We can't let this go on! We have to stop these people!" He exclaimed.

"Same here! These lunatics need to be put down 12 feet under!" Leone joined in, cracking her knuckles.

"I concur as well. This senseless destruction must be stopped." Akame said.

"People? You think…the monsters who did this were… _people_?" Numa suddenly asked, his eyes fixed on Tatsumi. He nodded, unsure of what the prince meant. Numa began shaking in pure fear and clutched the sides of his head.

"The ones…responsible for this atrocity are not human beings… _they are demons sent straight from hell."_

Everyone felt a collective chill run up their spines. They had no idea what to make of that sentence.

"Uhh…can we go back a little bit there? That whole 'demons from hell' bit. What's that all about-" Lubbock began to ask when the prince suddenly started hacking up blood! Numa began convulsing violently as Najenda tightened her grip on his hand. Numa sat himself up and placed a firm grasp on her shoulder. "To the…east….they…left….to the….east….."

His eyes rolled into the back of his head and slumped down onto his side. He was completely still and his breathing had ceased. Najenda put two fingers on his neck to check for a pulse…there was none. She closed her eyes and silently laid the late prince of the northern tribes down onto the bed and pulled the covers over him. A long silence hung over the room.

"What do you think he meant by 'demons'?" Sheele asked no one in particular.

"He was probably suffering from PTSD. Must've been seeing things, I guess." Mine shrugged.

"Maybe…but if he was telling the truth then there's a chance that these guys aren't human." Chelsea added.

"His death wasn't in vain. At least we know where this group is going." Najenda firmly stated.

"But we still don't know what their intentions are." Bulat reminded.

"Damn, you're right. I just wish we could know why…" Najenda said as she tried to wrap her head around this. The others began to think as well, trying to figure out what this group was after. Tatsumi was brainstorming as hard as he could until his eyes found their way over to the map on Numa's desk. As he looked at it, his eyes began to widen in realization as everything suddenly started to add up.

"I know what they're doing!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he went over to the desk. Everyone looked to him he started to clear the desk of papers. They all walked over to him, wondering what he was on to. He had the map of the whole country laid out and had procured a pencil from the desk drawer.

"Okay. Before I begin, is there anything of importance in the west?" Tatsumi asked as he pointed to the westernmost part of the map. It was a small area, with most of the sea taking up the rest of the map.

"The coastlines are all port towns and the Empire has multiple ships stationed here but aside from a few cities, a couple of tribes and some rebel encampments, there nothing really of great interest there." Akame answered.

"Alright. Now, we all know that this group struck here first." Tatsumi began as he circled the Capital with his pencil. He then began to draw a line up to the northern part of the map and circled the area. "And after they were done, they moved up to the north and attacked this fortress. But here's the thing: they only went after important individuals with a strong influence over the people like Honest, the Emporer and Prince Numa. Everyone else was fair game."

"Yeah, you're right! He's definitely on to something!" Lubbock said.

"It would also appear that this group knew of the ramifications that would follow by killing them. Without Honest's stranglehold on the Empire, his allies or other less than savory opportunists will most likely try to fill in his position and with Emporer Makoto dead, along with no heir to the throne, there _will_ be a massive power struggle over who will be the new Emporer. The same goes for Numa. The rest of the outlying villages won't even know what to do without proper guidance." Susanoo warned.

' _Hopefully my village elder will be able to keep things under control.'_ Tatsumi said to himself mentally. "That's right. The prince said that these guys were heading east so that means that they will most likely head to an area that's vital to whoever is living there and also has someone that's got a pretty good grip on the populace." He surmised while circling the eastern region of the Empire.

"Kyoroch! That's got to be where they are heading next!" Mine said, snapping her fingers. "That place is a thriving metropolis that's rich in natural resources. If that gets taken out then the whole region's economy would be devastated!"

"And it's also the main headquarters of the Path of Peace." Najenda added.

"The religion that says that by doing good deeds contributes to happiness and longevity?" Chelsea inquired.

"The one and the same." Najenda nodded.

"Hold on a sec, I think they came to my village once! The wooden idol that my elder gave me before I left was from that religion!" Tatsumi said as he pulled out the idol from his person. "Are they with the Revolutionary Army?

"Yup. They used to be the dominant religion in the Empire but when Honest came into power, they high-tailed it out of the Capital and settled down in Kyoroch." Leone answered. "Their leader is only known as, 'The Lord'. From what we've heard, he's a kindhearted man who puts the needs of his subjects before his own."

"That's probably who they're going to target next. Once they are done with Kyoroch, they are going to make a beeline straight towards the south." Tatsumi explained as he drew a straight line to the southern edge of the continent. He then turned towards his friends and game them all a dead serious look.

"And where do you think they will strike next?" He asked rhetorically.

Everyone went pale. Sheer terror gripped their hearts. The temperature around them plunged.

 _The Revolutionary Army HQ._

Najenda instantly sprang into action. "We need to go, _now_! Let's head back to the horses and make for Kyoroch! Maybe we can head them off!"

"But what about Esdeath?" Bulat reminded her. "Boss, we can't just let someone like her run free!"

"We've wasted too much time on Esdeath! If we lose the Revolutionary Army, _we lose this country!_ " She shouted. She then bolted out of the room with the rest of Night Raid following after her. Sheele took one last fleeting glance at the prince's body before joining back up with her comrades. His last words about the mysterious group being 'demons' was still stuck in her head. Was he really just horribly traumatized or was it the truth? Either way, she had a bad feeling about this…

* * *

KYOROCH- PATH OF PEACE GUARD BARRACKS

 _ **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM**_

The guards were suddenly woken out of the sleep as a thundering explosion echoed throughout Kyoroch. They stumbled out of their bunkbeds as dust rained down on top of their heads as another explosion shook the whole city.

 _ **KRRRRAAAAKAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

The doors to the barracks were quickly kicked open as the commanding officer entered the room with a frenzied look on his face. "GET YOURSELVES UP AND ARMED RIGHT F***ING NOW! _WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"_ He hollered!

"What's happening!? Who's attacking us?!" One of the guards asked frantically.

"We don't know! Some kind of creatures are tearing their way through the city-" The officer never finished his sentence as the front portion of the barracks were suddenly blown open, sending the CO flying across the room! The front wall fell apart, obscuring the room with smoke. As they guards began to help their commanding officer up, they started hearing several heavy footsteps marching towards their position. They all turned to the smoke and could make out 3, human-like shapes advancing over to them but there was something strange about them. They looked too…unnatural.

The last thing the guards saw before they were violently torn asunder were the silhouettes glowing, red eyes.

To be continued…

* * *

 **Phew…this chapter was a hard one folks. The one thing that gave me the most trouble was figuring out the geography for the Empire. I won't lie; it was confusing as hell for me so much that I thought my head was going to explode. I had to refer to images and the manga for a good grasp on what it was but it was still hard for me to get a bead on it so I just winged it. I really hope I got if right but if im not, please let me know in the reviews and I will try to correct it.**

 **Other than that, I did enjoy making Prince Numa's account of what happened as well as adding in references from the episode.**

 **Some of the dialogue was also inspired by the intro scene in Ninja Assassin which I highly recommend. It's a good watch.**

 **What do you guys think of the Lubbock x Najenda bit? I know I kinda pulled that whole fear talk out of nowhere but I think it helped. Any suggestions?**

 **Good news though, there is just one more chapter until the Ultrabots finally make their appearance! Until then, have a Happy New Year everyone!**

 **Don't forget to review but please don't flame.**


	8. Path of Ruin

**Chapter 8 is up and running folks! READ IT!**

 **Well folks, this is the chapter you have all been waiting for. Enjoy it, because I will be taking break from this story to work on my other fanfic. I don't know how long it will take so I implore you all to be patient.**

 **Review Time!**

 **Sullimike23: Exactly. I really wanted to capture true terror with the Ultrabots.**

 **Noob6: The Ultrabots will keep their original appearances.**

 **Red John: Thank you very much. You know, I was almost tempted to completely omit the Path of Peace and The Lord out of the story but I couldn't since they were just too important in the original Akame ga Kill storyline. There was no way I could just write them off.**

 **Pyromania101: I know, it sucked too but I did make that particular scene somewhat better, didn't I? Good job on pointing out the Ultrabots true objective, I wanted to do something a tiny bit different for them and Happy 2017!**

 **Drew Luczynski: I know how you feel. I thought for sure Leone was going to survive! But at least Mine and Tatsumi got their happy ending and Honest got carved up like a holiday ham. That sumbitch had it coming.**

 **Guest #1: I like the G1 soundwave voice as well as the voice but I have to disagree with the Doom Demon voice. I want the Ultrabots to sound robotic rather than demonic. I won't spoil anything about Exdor but I love your idea of Jack and his allies uniting against Aku. That would have made a fantastic series finale.**

 **TheGreatMarquis: I really wanted to recreate the feeling of the original episode and im glad that I was able to capture that. I'm also happy that the Ultrabots were your favorite villains! It's good to know I was able to spike your interest!**

 **colossalblackening: I wanted to make the Ultrabots have a bigger objective rather than just aimlessly killing everything they see and Im afraid I can't reveal anything about the Jaegers yet. Also, thank you for the advice! It will help me a lot when im working on my other story. I'm very sorry I couldn't get this released for your birthday. I'm a slow updater and I have been busy recently.**

 **NRG: Huh…I almost forgot about that part! Thank you for reminding me, I'll have to read the manga several more times again.**

 **Edgy birdy: Thank you very much, your comment means a lot to me!**

 **1\. I will be adding in some characters and villains from the show but I will not add Jack himself.**

 **2\. I am using the canon pairings for this fic which are Tatsumi x Mine, Wave x Kurome, Lubbock x Najenda and you can also expect a Leone x Run somewhere down the line.**

 **Junior VB: Obviously!**

 **Wayward Son: I figured it was time to try something new and don't worry; Exdor and the Ultrabots will keep their original looks.**

 **Dark Avenger: Very interesting choices! I'll give them a listen and see if any of them tickle my fancy. Champ probably kept his Teigu in whatever crusty, unsanitary pocket on his person. Also keep in mind that he's a pedo. None of us what to know what he's even done with those hands.**

 **Guest #2: I wouldn't say that…..**

 **Akame ga Kill and Samurai Jack belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

* * *

Chapter 8

Path of Ruin

"For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth."

-Exodus 9:15

KYOROCH-6 DAYS LATER

Night Raid headed directly east to the city of Kyoroch as fast as their horses could go. There was very little time to stop and rest the horses, including themselves. They had to get to the city before it was too late. Along the way, they began to see evidence of the unknown group's warpath: destroyed villages with no survivors and the bodies of Danger Beasts that foolishly tried to attack the assailants. Not to mention that they also saw the odd grooves in the earth: the same, currently unidentified means of transportation this group was using. They all knew that it wasn't a carriage, that would require multiple horses and they saw no hoof prints. How the hell were they getting around so fast?

As they continued on their path they could see smoke trails far away in the distance, a clear sign that they were already too late to prevent another massacre. The weather was already starting to heat up as they headed east so team removed their winter gear so that they wouldn't be drowning in their own sweat. They rode for 3 days straight while listening to the sounds of muffled explosions in the distance. On the 3rd day, they were already showing signs of fatigue and they had no other choice but to stop and rest the horses and themselves. This only added more frustration to the group as they were, once again, unable to do anything to stop this madness. As they rested for the night they could hear the explosions die down. Night Raid was running out of time.

After 3 more days they finally arrived at Kyoroch…or what was left of it.

From on top of the rocky plateau they were all standing on, they could see the utterly demolished ruins of the once prosperous city. Entire blocks reduced to rubble, bodies littering the streets and pillars of smoke partially blotting out the sun. It was just like the Capital and the northern fortress: death and destruction at its worst.

"This can't be happening…" Chelsea breathed as her lollipop fell out of her mouth.

"Damn it! Can't we ever get a goddamn break!?" Lubbock exasperated.

"If we stop these madmen and make it out of this, then I will consider that a break." Akame said, surveying the remains of the city.

"They've probably already moved on at this point. I don't think we will be able to stop them from wiping out the Revolutionary Army." Bulat stated as he began to fear the worst. The team's morale plummeted. Were their efforts all for nothing?

"I wouldn't say that just yet." Susanoo interjected. The humanoid Teigu was scouring the area with a pair of binoculars. "I don't see any tracks leaving the city anywhere. There's a very high chance that they might still be in Kyoroch."

"Then this is the perfect opportunity to waste these psychos once and for all." Najenda said as she tightened her grip on the horse's reigns.

"Wait a minute; we're just going to waltz right down there? This whole thing looks like one big trap!" Mine protested.

"I gotta agree with Mine. We don't know what these guys are capable of and we can't just barge in there without a plan." Leone advised.

"You're right. We'll-"

"Split up and find clues?" Everyone said in unison before Najenda could finish. Their leader threw them an agitated look but started to realize that she was using this plan multiple times already.

"I can't be mad at you guys right now." She sighed.

* * *

KYOROCH-PATH OF PEACE CATHEDRAL

(Resident Evil 2 Soundtrack-Police Station Lobby)

Night Raid's plan of attack was to covertly infiltrate the city from the east and west sides. Team 1 consisted of Najenda, Bulat, Susanoo, Akame, Mine and Sheele while Team 2 was made up of Tatsumi, Leone, Lubbock and Chelsea. Team 2 was tasked with searching the city for the hostile group and any survivors while Team 1's objective was to ascertain if The Lord and the rest of the Path of Peace were still alive.

As Team 1 made their way to Kyoroch main cathedral, they saw evidence of the Path of Peace mounting as assault against their attackers. It did not end well at all. The maimed bodies of the soldiers who guarded this once prosperous city littered the surrounding church. Numerous makeshift defenses surrounding the building were effortlessly decimated. They slowly walked up the steps to the massive set of doors that led inside the path's HQ. Team 1 opened the double doors and was treated with a gut wrenching sight.

A place that was once used for worship, hope and prayer was transformed into a slaughterhouse. Corpses were strewn all across the room, pews were reduced to splinters and the altar had been knocked over and crushed. The team walked through the bloodstained halls until they finally came upon The Lord's massive throne room. A battle had obviously taken place here; several walls were smashed in, tiles had been uprooted and the imposing statue that stood over in the back of the room had been blown to pieces. Oddly though, there appeared to be several broken nails scattering the floor.

Their main focus however, was on the 4 bodies that were in the room. One of the bodies belonged to a middle aged man wearing red and white robes and had a large beard. He had been vertically sliced in half with most of his blood pooling around him. A rather large hat bearing the symbol of the Path of Peace lay near his corpse.

Akame and Sheele walked over to the body. "Do you think this was The Lord?" Sheele asked.

"Maybe. But something about this man doesn't feel right…" Akame observed. He didn't really look like the leader of a religion. He looked more like the guy you would find at a _really_ seedy bar. He had to have been some kind of assistant or a vizier of some sort.

Najenda, Mine, Bulat and Susanoo were currently looking over the other 3 bodies in the room. One noticeable feature was that they were all wearing clothing that resembled traditional garb worn by the Kouken Temple martial arts school.

The 1st body was a gaunt looking man with purple hair, dark eyes and bizarre stitches that went from his eyes down to his chest. He apparently had every single bone in his body broken, as multiple bones were jutting up from his skin and his head had been twisted completely backwards.

The 2nd body was that of a tanned girl with light yellow hair. Her tendons had been cleanly severed and the top of her skull was heavily caved in.

The last body belonged to an extremely muscled, giant of a man with a big bushy beard and black hair sticking out of the sides of his head, along with braided hair that ran down the length of his back. His eyes had been ripped out of their sockets and had multiple baseball-sized holes all over his chest.

"What do you think? Bodyguards?" Mine asked Najenda.

"Probably. But why would people from the Kouken Temple be here of all places? They certainly aren't the type that The Lord would hire for protection." Najenda pondered.

"Maybe The Lord didn't hire them. Perhaps someone else did." Bulat guessed. Susanoo looked over the bodies and began to realize something about them.

"I have heard rumors that practitioners of Imperial Fist who can reach the 10th skill level of the martial art have the ability to stretch their limbs and elongate their fingernails to combat their opponents. Their skin seems to have some form of elasticity to them and there are chipped fingernails around here that are noticeably longer than average. There is no doubt that they were 3 of The 4 Rakshasa Demons." Susanoo revealed.

" _The_ Rakshasa Demons!? They're kung-fu legends! I heard they could take down a Teigu user single handedly!" Mine gasped in amazement.

"So where's the 4th?" Bulat pointed out.

"Might have fled for all we know. But after seeing how this group obliterates everything in their path, I doubt he or she could've escaped with all their limbs intact." Najenda said. Sheele and Akame joined up with the rest of the group after they were done with their own investigation.

"We've checked over the other body and we can confirm that it's not The Lord. He must have most likely been an advisor." Akame reported. Najenda looked at the body of the man and then at the Rakshasa Demons. Were they working for him? Was there some kind of coup d'état in progress before the unknown group attacked? Could this man have been some kind of double agent for the Empire?

"Has anybody noticed how quiet it is?" Sheele asked aloud, snapping Najenda out of her thoughts. She was right. The entire city was as quiet as a graveyard.

"Mine, get up to the top of the church and scope out the city. Let us know if you can find anything. The rest of us will stay down here and see if we can find anything else." Najenda ordered.

"On it." Mine said diligently as she headed outside.

* * *

KYOROCH-SHOPPING DISTRICT

Tatsumi headed for the the city's shopping center in the northwestern part of Kyoroch. His group decided to split up and search the city while also keeping a lookout for anything out of the ordinary or if they found the perpetrators behind all of the chaos these past few days. So far, he turned up with nothing. This was beginning to frustrate Tatsumi to no end. He walked into the shopping center and stopped at the entrance. Everything was on fire with more dead bodies littering the ground. Worst of all, he could see the bodies of children as well. He sunk to his knees and gritted his teeth as hard as he could. _'When? When is this carnage going to end?!'_ he thought.

Tatsumi suddenly felt a large hand grip his shoulder. He quickly unsheathed his sword, spun around and swung his sword at the neck of his attacker…only to suddenly stop when he saw that it was Leone!

"Little quick to the trigger there, eh?" Leone said shakily as she pointed to the blade that was just mere inches away from her jugular.

"Sorry! I'm just a little bit on edge." Tatsumi apologized as he put his sword away.

"No problem. It's the same thing for me too." Leone said as she patted his back with her big, furry hand.

They both heard footsteps approaching and turned around to see Lubbock and Chelsea with looks of disappointment on their faces.

"You two find anything?" Leone asked.

"We got jack diddly squat. It's the same thing everywhere you see." Lubbock reported, gesturing to the desolation around him.

"We've searched half of this this whole city. It's just another mass graveyard." Chelsea grimly affirmed.

"Damn it…" Tatsumi cursed.

"The sooner we kill these lunatics, the better. Let's head back to the others." Leone advised, thumbing over to the decorative cathedral in the distance.

* * *

KYOROCH-SEVERAL MINUETS LATER

"What do you guys think this group will gain by doing all of this?" Tatsumi wondered.

"Money, women, power, their own country, who knows?" Lubbock responded as he and rest of his friends continued walking.

"It pretty much depends on who hired them. Once we take care of them, we find out who ordered them to do this and make them pay." Chelsea said sternly.

"Ya got that damn well right. There's no way in hell I'm going to let these bastards get away with this. They need to face retribution for every life they took." Leone stated.

Tatsumi smiled. "It's good to know that all of you are fighting to help people."

"We may be assassins, but that doesn't mean we're heartless. We kill so that we can make sure that nobody has to suffer under the rule of the Empire…a bit of a moot point seeing as how there isn't an Empire anymore." Chelsea explained.

"Speaking of which, how did you guys get into this line of work? I know about the other's motives for joining the revolution but I haven't heard your reasons from you guys yet." Tatsumi asked. Leone, Lubbock and Chelsea stopped walking and began to think. No one had asked them that question before and this was a first for all 3 of them. "Hmmmmm….." Leone hummed while tapping her chin. "Where do we begin?"

"I'll go first!" Lubbock said, springing into action.

"Great…." Leone sighed while rolling her eyes.

"I was the 4th son of a big time merchant. I was never deprived of objects since I was a kid. I could do anything skillfully and I was bored of the world." Lubbock proudly bragged.

"Wow. You piss me off already." Tatsumi deadpanned.

"What else is new?" Chelsea added.

"I'M GETTING TO THE IMPORTANT PART, OKAY!? Anyway, during that time, Najenda moved to the region where I lived. It was love at first sight." He continued, ignoring the gagging sounds Leone was making. "So I volunteered as a soldier and using my own skillfulness I climbed to a position where I could serve at her side. When we escaped from the Empire, I wrote us both as dead to throw off our pursuers. Pretty gallant, huh?"

"Oh! So the reason why you joined is because you're in love with her!" Tatsumi deduced.

"Bingo~." Lubbock grinned as he flipped his hair back.

"Yet after all this time, you still haven't been rewarded yet. Must be pretty sad for you." Chelsea teased.

"I wouldn't say that just yet." Lubbock said, remembering his little moment with Najenda back at the northern fortress.

"You know, if you really love her that much then maybe you shouldn't peep on girls while they bathe." Tatsumi suggested.

Lubbock's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "What!? Hold on a sec, there's a _huge_ difference between having a girl you like and wanting to watch a cute girl!" He protested.

"And it's because of your way of thinking that you always get into trouble." Leone pointed out.

"Yeah? Well just you watch, I'll make her fall for me someday!" He argued.

"If that ever happens we'll treat you to anything you like. " Leone betted while rolling her eyes.

"I guess I'm up next." Chelsea cut in. "I worked under a horribly cruel viceroy who took great pleasure in hunting people. He got bored of hunting animals and Danger Beasts so he turned his sights on humans instead. As I lived under his abuse and oppression, I began to develop of nihilistic view on life…I pretty much just gave up on all hope."

Tatsumi stared at her in saddened mortification with his mouth slightly hanging open. Lubbock and Leone stayed quiet, having heard her story before.

"But all of that changed when I found Gaea Foundation while I was cleaning his storeroom. Apparently it didn't activate for him and he deemed it useless. You could imagine my surprise when it activated for me. After secretly using it several times and realizing its potential, I assassinated the viceroy when he least expected it. It felt good to be finally rid of that monster but I knew that he would be replaced by someone just as repugnant as him. But I had been wrong. He was replaced by a kind hearted man who was smart, caring and lived to help others. It was at that point that I realized that I could use my Teigu to change things for the better." Chelsea reminisced as she thought back on the latter part of her story.

Tatsumi felt a wave of relief of delight after hearing that. It was so surprising and comforting to know that most of the team had the same convictions as him: fighting to help people.

"Several weeks after that, I joined the Revolutionary Army. A year later, I joined up with these goofballs!" Chelsea grinned as she motioned towards Lubbock and Leone who were smiling broadly.

"Stop it, you're making us blush!" Leone giggled.

"That just leaves you then." Tatsumi said as he looked at her.

"Already? Well let's see….I beat up a bunch of asshats I didn't like and then I got scouted." Leone answered, albeit very quickly and simply.

"…..That's it?" Tatsumi asked, confused at how short her backstory was.

"Nah! I'm just pulling your chain. Here's how it really went down: It all started when I saw some aristocrats playing a game in the slums, my neighborhood. But this game consisted of trampling innocent kids with their horses. That royally pissed me off so I broke their necks like twigs. I was learning how to use Lionelle at that time after I got it from a black market vendor." She told him.

"Hold on. You just simply bought that!? But it's a Teigu! How did you manage to purchase it?" Tatsumi asked as he pointed to Lionelle.

"Well….I kinda haggled it off him and get this: we both thought it was a plain old belt! I just put it on one day and it activated! One hell of a great find, huh? Anyway, I found out that I took a huge liking to making sick bastards like them pay so I joined the Revolutionary Army. My goal was to make the Prime Minister suffer for all of the pain he caused the people! Unfortunately I won't be able to do the latter, no thanks to the jagoffs who keep destroying everything they see." Leone continued.

"I see…thanks for telling me you guys. It's good to know about my friends a little bit more." Tatsumi complimented.

"Awwwww! You're welcome my little Tatsumi!" Leone squealed joyfully as she tightly hugged him. The poor teen's head was buried in her cleavage and was finding it really hard to breathe.

"Mind of I cut in too?" Chelsea laughed as she hugged Tatsumi from behind.

Tatsumi turned as red as a tomato. He never thought this sort of thing would ever happen to him in his lifetime. He was starting to get extremely bashful and dizzy. For some reason, he didn't notice Lubbock staring at him venomously.

His right eye was twitching and several veins popped up on his head _. 'Damn you Tatsumi! Why can't it be me?!_ Lubbock mentally shrilled in fury. He remembered their mission and cleared his throat, getting the trio's attention. "I hate to interrupt your group hug session but we got to join back up with the rest of the team, remember?"

"Oh, right." Leone realized as she let go of Tatsumi. The boy began gasping for air since it felt like forever since he was trapped in Leone's "Heavenly Valley". The four of them walked to the Path of Peace cathedral thought the alleyways until they entered the streets of Kyoroch. They briskly continued their path until Tatsumi spotted something out of the corner of his eye and stopped.

"What's up?" Chelsea asked as she and the others noticed him stopping. He simply pointed up ahead the street. There, sitting a few feet away from the group were 19 baskets sitting in a semicircle formation in the middle of the street.

"So? They're just regular old baskets." Leone said.

"Yeah but…don't they seem out of place?" Tatsumi stated as he, Lubbock and Chelsea walked over to them. He lightly tapped one with her foot. They seemed pretty heavy. Chelsea knelt down and ran her hand down the basket, feeling the woven patterns glide across her palm.

"Wow...this is some really good material these things are made of!" Chelsea expressed.

Lubbock was trying to open one of the baskets but to no avail. It wouldn't budge at all. "Can't seem to get this open for some reason. I think its glued shut." Lubbock grunted.

Leone narrowed her eyes at the baskets. Something didn't feel right. Tatsumi was right about them being out of place: there wasn't a scratch on them. Since she was still in her Lionelle form, she decided to sniff the air to see if there were any identifiable scents on the baskets-

Her eyes went wide and her hair stood straight on end. A feeling of dread ran up her spine. A million danger alarms rang throughout her skull. The baskets reeked of death. Lots and lots and lots of _death._

"GUYS! GET AWAY FROM THOSE NOW!" Leone barked.

Lubbock stopped trying to get one of the baskets open. "Why? What's-"

The basket that Lubbock was attempting to open suddenly shot up in front of him…

And Lubbock found himself staring up into the eyes of _Hell_ _incarnate._

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

* * *

PATH OF PEACE CATHEDRAL-SEVERAL SECONDS EARLIER

After they were done thoroughly investigating every inch of the interior, the rest of Night Raid exited the cathedral and were greeted by Mine leaning up against a pillar.

"Anything?" Najenda inquired.

"I scoured the whole city and I can say that we're the only ones here. There's nobody left."

Najenda ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. She was afraid of that. "Alright, let's go meet up with the others and-"

" _GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"_

Night Raid instantly swiveled their heads over to the right, at the source of the scream.

"That was Lubbock!" Bulat identified.

" _Move!"_ Najenda yelled as she and the rest of the team sprinted over to where they heard the scream. They ran through the city as fast as they could, hoping that they weren't too late to save their own. If that scream meant anything, then Team 2 had found the group responsible for 13 days of death and destruction all across the Empire.

They ran through the alleyway as a short cut until they noticed something coming into their view at the far end of the alley. They saw Tatsumi, Chelsea and Leone backing up with their weapons/Teigus drawn while they witnessed Lubbock, flat on his ass, scramble away from whatever was in front of them. One thing that they all noticed was the looks of pure fear on Team 2's faces. They finally exited the alleyway ran went up to their friends.

"Guys, are you okay?! What's going…" Najenda trailed off as she and the rest of Night Raid turned to what they were looking at.

They all gasped in horror.

 _(Devil May Cry 3-Vergil Afterwards)_

Night Raid couldn't even begin to describe what they were seeing.

Standing before them were 19… _creatures._

They looked vaguely human shaped with bits and pieces of woven material covering a majority of their bodies but they looked too gangly and metallic. They were all carrying various, deadly looking weaponry with some of them seemingly attached to their limbs. Each one of them were 7ft tall and stood as still as statues, making them appear even more creepy and unnerving.

They all wore identical wide brimmed, straw caps that listed them as numbers 1 through 19 but the one disturbing detail that Night Raid took into account was their _faces._ They had no ears, no nose, no hair and no mouth. Just pupiless, blood red orbs that made them look like something straight out of the depths of Hades.

There was _nothing_ human about these things.

Then one of them spoke.

It spoke in a deep, garbled, monotone voice that was utterly devoid of any emotion.

" **WELCOME…** _ **TO YOUR DOOM."**_

To be continued…

* * *

 **After many months of waiting, we finally get to see the Ultrabots in all of their robotic glory! Will Night Raid manage to turn the tables or are they in over their heads?**

 **It has been a long time coming folks and I want to thank each and every one of you for your support. I don't think I could've have gotten this far without you guys. It really means a lot to me.**

 **I had to add in Lubbock's, Leone's and Chelsea's pasts so that they and Tatsumi could get to know each other better as well as add in some character development. Chelsea was difficult since I couldn't find her backstory anywhere in the manga so I had to refer to the anime and the Wiki site for info. I hope I got it right.**

 **For those of you who are wondering, the Ultrabots will keep their original appearances from the cartoon but I slapped on numbers on their hats so it would be easier to identify which one is which. On an important note, the Ultrabots will run on oil and a condensed plasma reactor within their bodies rather than Aku's essence. I will reveal the origin for the plasma reactors as the story progresses.**

 **Many of you are guessing the new voices I gave the Ultrabots and I went with the Constructor from Borderlands 2. I really wanted to go for a more frightening route with the voices since this is the world of Akame ga Kill and I actually think they work out pretty well. If you go to Youtube and type in Constructor Quotes, you'll get a pretty good feeling of how disturbing they all are.**

 **One cool little fact is that I had tough time finding the perfect reveal music for the Ultrabots. My options were the main theme of Terminator 2 and the title screen music from Doom 4. I decided to go with this particular soundtrack from DMC3 because I wanted to capture the raw, inhuman terror the Ultrabots bring forth.**

 **As I previously stated before, I will be taking a break on this story to work one of my other stories. But as a special treat, as well as another huge thanks, I have written down an informative list of Ultrabots 1 through 19. Enjoy!**

 **Don't forget to review but please don't flame.**

* * *

Ultrabot Encyclopedia

Unit #1

Codename: Army Slayer

Weapon: A massive greatsword similar in appearance to the Dragonslayer from Berserk

Additional Information: The leader of the Ultrabots, #1's skill with its greatsword is unrivaled and unmatched. His greatsword allows him to easily hack apart battalions of soldiers with little to no effort, earning him his iconic codename. The rest of the Ultrabots follow its commands without question and its orders are absolute.

Unit #2

Codename: Ripper

Weapon: Curved wristclaws similar to the ones wielded by the Garrador enemy from Resident Evil 4

Additional Information: Unit #2 was tailor made for dicing its enemies into bloody piles of confetti. Its elongated claws can easily slice through most known types of steel and its acrobatic subroutines allow it to easily close the distance and cut apart its foes. All the grace of a gymnast combined with the ruthless efficiency of a killer, all in one terrifying package.

Unit #3

Codename: Turbo

Weapon: Massive gauntlets and a back mounted jet booster

Additional Information: A master at brawling, Unit #3's studded gauntlets allow it to instantly shatter bones or knock of heads with one blow. The jet booster on its back allows it to launch itself at its foes at breakneck speeds and bone crushing force. Additionally, it has smaller jet boosters on its gauntlets which increase the speed and power of its punches.

Unit #4

Codename: Tengu

Weapons: Dual Kukris and metallic wings that give it the ability to fly

Additional Information: Unit #4 can be best described as the robotic version of Run. The 1st aerial unit of the Ultrabots, Unit #4's wing are both made of a lightweight version of adamantium and lined with nano-filament fabrics and meshes which easily allow it to soar through the air. Its Kukris make it an especially deadly combatant.

Unit #5

Codename: Singularity

Weapons: Gravity manipulator, laser beam gun in fingers and 4 laser drones identical to the Drone enemy from X-Com Enemy Unknown

Additional information: The 2nd aerial unit, Unit #5 has an inbuilt "Gravity Well Generator" which gives it the ability to manipulate gravity as well as enable it to float through the air with ease. Additionally, its fingers contain laser beam emitters that can pierce through anything and can be configured to fire multiple shots or continuous beams of energy. Unit #5 also employs 4 support drones that each have the same laser weapons it is equipped with and serve as back up.

Unit #6

Codename: Scorched Earth

Weapons: Dual GAU-19 miniguns, 2 underslung dumbfire rocket launchers similar to the ones from Quake 3 Arena and shoulder mounted, heat seeking missile pods. Also comes equipped with a back mounted helicopter rotor

Additional Information: This Ultrabot lives up to its codename frighteningly well. The equivalent of a walking tank, Unit #6 brings death and destruction everywhere it goes. Its helicopter functionality not only makes it the 3rd and final aerial unit, but also allows it to literally rain down death from above.

Unit #7

Codename: Prism

Weapons: Arms are made of a reflective, extremely dense and highly malleable crystal-like material that can be shaped into any weapon

Additional Information: Unit #7 is a combat opportunist. Its arms are made of a semi-elastic crystalline substance known as Elastitherium. This enables it to instantly form any weapon known to man to get the drop on its opponent. As an added bonus, the crystal is very reflective so if it is very bright outside, it can focus light at its foes to blind them or severely burn them.

Unit #8

Codename: Mach 1

Weapons: Dual karambit knives and an advanced, super speed generator that allows it to run at the speed of sound

Additional Information: Thanks' to its built-in speed generator; you will _never_ see this Ultrabot coming. Unit #8 can literally run at near-blinding speeds to easily outrun and viscously pummel its foe while it karambits can sever tendons, slit throats and efficiently aim for any gaps in its foes defenses. Not only that, but it can also _weaponize the sound barrier._ Since it can effectively control its speed, it can unleash sonic booms near its opponent to stun, deafen, and disorient the poor sap.

Unit #9

Codename: Gemini

Weapons: Explosive escrima sticks and the ability to create a mirror image of itself, allowing it and the doppelganger to fight side by side

Additional Information: This one is quite literally 2 Ultrabots in one. Unit #9's "Phase Distortion Amplifier" creates an afterimage of itself which is just as strong and hits just as hard. To make matters worse, this afterimage cannot be harmed. Its primary form of offense is a pair of escrima sticks but here's the real kicker: each one releases microscopic cluster bombs just as they hit the opponent. They don't have enough explosive force to blow off a limb but they can painfully rupture the skin.

Unit #10

Codename: Whiplash

Weapons: Each arm is replaced with 20 whips, each of them ending in a razor sharp, scythe like blade that vibrates at an ultrasonic frequency

Additional Information: Unit #10 looks like it came straight out of your worst nightmares. Each arm is made up of 20 whips which can extend to several feet and each one has a wicked looking scythe can vibrate at insanely high frequencies which allow it to cut through armor and metal like they were made of tissue paper. They can also use the whips to tightly bind their targets and mercilessly flay them alive.

Unit #11

Codename: Yari

Weapon: Double ended Jumonji spears and magnetic manipulation

Additional Information: Quick and deadly, Unit #11 is skillfully proficient with its spears and looks for every opportunity to utilize the gut hooks on each side of the spears. It can also use the magnetic pads within its palms to turn anything remotely metal into a deadly projectile. It can also be used to retrieve thrown spears.

Unit #12

Codename: Blood Knight

Weapon: War mace and tower shield equipped with several countermeasures

Additional Information: Unit #12 gets its codename for literally being drenched in the blood of his foes after a battle. Its armaments include a flanged mace and an imposing tower shield that covers most of its body. But not only is it used for extra defense, it also contains a 30mm cannon and a flechette gun that can easily annihilate anything stupid enough to be in front of it.

Unit #13

Codename: Firestarter

Weapons: Flamethrowers located in wrists palms, and fingers

Additional Information: Whereas Bols greatly dislikes setting people on fire, Unit #13 takes immense pleasure in doing it. Due to his napalm being greatly enhance by his plasma generator, Unit #13's flames are 10 times stronger than Rubicante. This Ultrabot can also use the flamethrowers located in its fingers to create "Burner Jet Claws" which allow it to cut/melt through steel and inflict horrible burn wounds.

Unit #14

Codename: Auger

Weapons: Drills attached to arms (Try to image Enma's Spear of Justice only _way_ scarier looking)

Additional information: Not only can Unit #14's drills bore straight through pure bedrock but they are also useful for running several adversaries straight through, resulting in a very messy outcome. It can also fire drill missiles that dig into whatever it hits and then explode. The missiles are located on the sides of its arms.

Unit #15

Codename: Onslaught

Weapons: Dual pile bunkers and explosive orbs

Additional Information: Unit #15 shows _zero_ mercy towards anyone. Its pile bunkers can smash apart buildings and defenses and don't even get me started on what they do to people. Its most special weapon however, is its explosive photon orbs. The bowling ball-sized spheres harmlessly adhere to anything it touches and what follows afterwards is a massive, horribly violent explosion.

Unit #16

Codename: Artillery Barrage

Weapons: QLB-06 grenade launcher, wrist mounted Pancor Jackhammer and a back mounted 120mm SRAMS (Super Rapid Advanced Mortar System)

Additional Information: Whether from up close or from afar, Unit #16 will rock your world in the worst way possible. His grenade launcher can fire different types of grenades (explosive, shock, incendiary, corrosive, stun and shrapnel) while his wrist mounted shotgun can perforate anyone who tries to get too close. His mortar shells are destructively powerful and have a very large blast radius.

Unit #17

Codename: Black Ice

Weapons: Katars and the ability to generate ice

Additional information: This is what happens when you combine Esdeath with The Terminator. While not as immensely powerful like Esdeath, Unit #17 is every bit as monstrous and dangerous as her. It possesses nearly of the abilities of Demons Extract due to the "Absolute Zero Generator" built within it and is very skilled with its katars.

Unit #18

Codename: Razor Wind

Weapons: Bladed chakrams

Additional Information: Unit #18 is the only Ultrabot with 4 arms. But that's so it can throw as many chakrams as it can with rapid efficiency as well as attack from any angle when engaged in close quarters combat. Each chakram is equipped with homing technology which allows the blades to actively seek out their targets and return back to the user.

Unit #19

Codename: Dead Eye

Weapons: Iver Johnson AMAC 1500 BMG sniper rifle and machine gun drones similar to the OWL drone from Killzone Shadow Fall

Additional Information: Unit #19 is the last member of the Ultrabots and the team sniper. He utilizes a customized, belt fed sniper rifle that can instantly liquefy anything the round hits. Because of its advanced targeting optics, Unit #19 never misses it shot. It also come equipped with 2 machine gun drones that pepper any attacker with a volley of FMJ rounds.

 **See you all next time!**


	9. An Unstoppable Enemy (Part 1)

**I'M BACK!**

 **Folks, I am so sorry it has taken this long to update. I can't tell how deeply ashamed I am for making you guys wait half a year for an update. Life and working on other stories just got in the way of everything and it should not have taken this long. Again, I'm sorry.**

 **To make it up to you all, I will be finishing this story from beginning to end. Thank you all for your patience.**

 **Also, this time away from the story has made me realize that I have been spelling Extorss name wrong! I thought it was Exdor but now I see his correct spelling is Extor.**

 ***UPDATE* I realized that naming the Ultrabots by their numbers would be confusing so I changed it to their nicknames. Hopes this helps, thanks Noob6!**

 **Review time!**

 **Guest #1: I agree with you wholeheartedly and I'm glad I made you happy about incorporating your Ultrabot ideas.**

 **Noob6: Innocent but very deadly my friend! You bring up a good point but it still doesn't change the fact that he killed god knows how many imperial citizens and that he was also a useless emperor.**

 **SulliMike23: One can only hope.**

 **Drew Luczynski: Oh ye of little faith.**

 **Thaqif: I know you have a lot of questions so I will try my best to answer all of them as much as I can.**

 **I know I made the Ultrabots OP but that was kind of what they were in the episode. tThey will be alittle bit more sadistic then they were before.**

 **This fight will be broken up into 4 parts.**

 **I haven checked out those OST's but maybe I will try to find some time to listen to them and those are some pretty good crossover ideas. I definitely like Your Command & Conquer x Fairy Tail crossover!**

 **I have watched all of the episodes of season 5 and I loved every one of them. While I will admit that the ending was a bit rushed, it was a great sendoff.**

 **I am well aware that you are a huge fan of Bols and don't worry, he and his family are not going to die.**

 **Pyromania101: Quite true!**

 **Red John: Here ya go!**

 **NRG: I have read enough of the mange to get a good handle on their relationship and I'm not a SAO guy. It just seems boring to me.**

 **Jerarudo Torinidado: Don't worry. None of them will be dying….just completely brutalized.**

 **Dark Avengers: Great soundtrack Listing! I don't know if I'm going to use them but I will use "Sandman's Confeession".**

 **Story Artist: Read on and find out! The newest chapter of Kaiju Warfare is out now!**

 **Writing Warrior: The Ultrabots were in need of an upgrade and I'm glad I didn't disappoint. The new Godzilla/Evangelion crossover is now up!**

 **Guest #2: Thanks!**

 **Guest #3: Happy you love it and sorry, Jack won't be appearing.**

 **COMAC001: Pure nightmare fuel, my friend! No joke, it's gonna be a curb stomp battle.**

 **Guest #4: Thanks for the supportive words!**

 **New Universe Returns: I'm not sure if I will use anyone from Season 5, it depends on the situation.**

 **Arkham Knight: I'm following the basis of the original episode but I may add in some surprises and changes. Thanks!**

 **Samurai10: I'm actually planning on finishing this!**

 **King of fans: See what?**

 **Empire Service?**

 **The Ultrabots are stronger than their canon counterparts and thanks for giving my story a look.**

 **Guest #5: I will give those a look and they will be named by their numbers.**

 **Guest #6: Esdeath won't fall in love with Tatsumi but I have something very big planned out for her.**

 **Guest #7: Those are good shows too.**

 **Guest #8: I'm not really interested in Shovel Knight.**

 **Guest #9: Unfortunately not.**

 **Guest #10: I always thought about that theory as well!**

 **Silver Wolf: LMFAO!**

 **Tech Jammer Merry Christmas to you too! Glad to see we both love the Ultrabots and we both have the same opinions on Akame ga Kill. I'm sorry it's taken this long to update, I'm hoping I can make it up to everyone by finishing it.**

 **Also, to answer your question, I'm male.**

 **Matthew gemm: I always wondered why the community sees them as a pairing but I thought it would be nice for this story.**

 **Guest: 11#: Relax, its here!**

 **Strike the Blood: Glad you love it and the fight will be in 4 parts!**

 **Guest #12: Your comment means a lot to me. It really does!**

 **R98: The Ultrabots are finally here but not Jack.**

 **ultron emperor: I do have an odd habit of making good crossovers, don't i? Don't expect Aku to take a good guy role, he's WAY too evil.**

 **Zeroth17: Ehhhhhhh….probably not but I did update!**

 **Jk: Great to see I've gotten you interested in Akame ga Kill! Word of advice: don't get too attached to anyone…**

 **Idea Guy: The Scotsman will appear in the series I'm making but im not sure who I want to have him meet. Should I go with Susanoo or Leone?**

 **RoyalStarlord: Read on and find out!**

 **ShadowFox70: Holy crap!**

 **Pacer287: Ummmmmm….thank you?**

 **Wacko12: I realized that a long time ago but I couldn't edit the previous chapters because they got deleted but I'll keep that fact in mind. Thank you for reminding me.**

 **NTZ200: Woah!**

 **Matthew hamm: I'm not so sure if I'm able to incorporate them into Akame ga Kill. But I will find a way though!**

 **Guest #13: Muchas gracias!**

 **Guest #14: I have read the few first chapters of AGK Zero and to be honest, I just didn't find it interesting at all. I may or may not use the Daughters of Aku, it just all depends if I feel like it.**

 **Akame ga Kill and Samurai Jack belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

* * *

Chapter 9

An Unstoppable Enemy (Part 1)

KYOROCH

Night Raid stood completely rooted where they were, staring at the metallic monstrosities standing before them. It soon became clear to them that these were the perpetrators responsible for destroying the Empire and killing millions of people. But what in blazes were they?

"What the f*** am I looking at?!" Mine whispered to Leone.

"You're asking me?" Leone replied, not taking her eyes off the creatures.

Akame had seen many things in her life that would disturb anyone but due to her upbringing as an assassin, she was rendered numb to anything unnerving. But these… _things_ actually disturbed her to an extent. Whether it was the glowing red eyes, the fact that they possibly killed Esdeath or that they didn't even look remotely human, she honestly didn't know.

"Do you think they're wearing some kind of armor?" Tatsumi asked Lubbock.

"I'm more worried about their weapons! Look at the size of those things!" he exclaimed.

Sheele and Chelsea were focused on the weapons as well. They had never seen those kinds of armaments before in their lives. Could it be that they were Teigus? If they were, then it was no wonder they were able to lay waste to the Empire and everything else that stood in their way. One other thing that the two of them took note of was they the creatures weren't emitting any kind of aura whatsoever.

Bulat and Susanoo eyed the beings cautiously. "What do you think? Are they biological or humanoid Teigus like you?" Bulat asked Susanoo.

"No. These things are something else entirely. They aren't Teigus in the slightest." He confirmed.

"Do you think they're the byproduct of one?" Bulat inquired.

"I'm not sure…." Susanoo answered, narrowing his eyes.

Najenda then moved forward towards the group, earning startled looks from her friends. She stopped a few feet away from the monsters. She gave them all a hard look before speaking to them.

"Who or what are you?" She questioned. Her only reply was eerie silence from them.

"Who ordered you to do this?" She asked again. They didn't answer.

"Why did you destroy the Empire and the northern territories as well as Kyoroch?" She demanded, her tone of voice rising. They didn't speak or move, even so much as blink.

"What do you hope to accomplish by committing these atrocities?!" She asked, becoming desperate since she wasn't getting anything from them. Again, they said nothing.

Najenda ground her teeth together as her patience wore thin. "START TALKING!" She roared. But then, some of them finally spoke!

" **TO LURE YOU TO US."**

" **TO DRAW YOU OUT."**

"What!?" Najenda blinked; with the other members of Night Raid blinking is confusion.

" **YES."**

" **WE HAVE BEEN HUNTING YOU, NIGHT RAID."**

" **WE HAVE COME TO** _ **DESTROY YOU**_ **."**

The assassins couldn't believe what they were hearing. The destruction, the senseless killings…all of it was just to find them?! But then, growing horror fell upon the group when it dawned upon them that they had walked right into their trap! Getting their weapons at the ready, everyone knew that they had no other option but to fight their way out. At the very least, they might be able to take out these monsters.

Akame took a step forward and pointed Murasame at the creatures. "If it's us you been seeking, then your search is-"

Before she or anybody else could react, one of the creatures had its curved blade dangerously close to her throat! Akame barely had enough time to dodge the blade as it swung past her and cut off a few strands of her hair!

' _How did it close the distance so quickly?! I barely saw it move!'_ Akame thought as the creature locked eyes with her. She also took note that this one was numbered 8. Leone, Lubbock and Bulat attempted to move in and attack the creature but then several of them rushed towards Night Raid while the rest opened fire upon them!

 _BRAKKKA BRAKKKA BRAKKKKA_

 _FOOOM FOOOM FOOOM FOOOM_

 _VEWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP_

 _BAKOW BAKOW BAKOW_

A volley of bullets, rockets, searing light and grenades broke the silence of the now dead city and the team split up to avoid the deadly barrage! The monsters continued to law waste to the empty streets and abodes of Kyoroch. Night Raid ran through the alleyways to try and regroup but they found themselves pursued by the red eyed horrors every step of the way! Soon everyone had been split up into different areas of Kyoroch, some of them by themselves or in pair, facing off against the monsters.

Akame was up against Turbo and Mach 1.

Sheele confronted Army Slayer and Whiplash

Leone steadied her ground against Ripper, Tengu and Singularity.

Chelsea and Lubbock stared down Gemini and Firestarter

Bulat was surrounded by Auger, Onslaught and Dead Eye.

Tatsumi prepared to fight Prism and Yari.

Najenda and Susanoo faced off against Scorched Earth, Artillery Barrage and Black Ice.

Mine aimed Pumpkin at Blood Knight and Razor Wind.

* * *

KYOROCH-OUTSKIRTS

Far away on a sand dune, a short sized figure observed the combatants through a pair of high tech binoculars. His hands holding the binoculars shook as his blood ran cold.

"Run….run! _RUN_!"

* * *

KYOROCH

As Akame got into a fighting stance and prepared to combat the creatures, she took this time to study her opponents.

' _The way they seem to glisten in the sun…are their bodies completely encased in metal? If they are, then this renders Murasame's effect useless on them. I need to play this smart. I have to look for any gaps in their armor and use it to my advantage.'_ Akame thought.

Akame tightened her grip on Murasame and focused her red colored eyes at 8 and 3. "I will bury the targets." She proclaimed, her voice devoid of mercy.

" **IT IS** _ **YOU**_ **WHO WILL BE BURIED."**

" **IN A SHALLOW GRAVE."**

A device opened up on Turbo's back and a jet of flame erupted from it, propelling the monster straight towards Akame! It sung its massive, studded gauntlet at her but she dodged to the left just as the first demolished the building behind her in one blow!

Akame rushed forward and aimed for its joints, intent on penetrating whatever soft flesh was underneath it or at least sever a limb.

 _CLANG_

To Akame's shock, there wasn't anything beneath its joints: its whole skin was metal! #3 swung its massive fist at her and she somersaulted out of the way but out of the corner of her eye, she saw #8 sprint towards her and launched into a flurry of swipes at her with its curved knives.

Thanks to Akame's training, she able to rapidly parry the blades with her own. But then Mach 1's attacks starting to get faster and faster and it all became a blur! Akame was unable to follow the blades or keep up and she was now starting to get cut apart on multiple areas on her body!

Mach 1 jumped back and Turbo boosted forward and slammed his fist into Akame's abdomen! She was sent flying into a nearby building as she began to hack up blood! She got herself up and clutched her stomach. That one hit alone broke two of her ribs and her arms, legs and chest were covered in long, bloody lesions.

She saw #3 enter through the hole in the wall and charged at her but she skillfully dove underneath it's legs, despite the obvious pain coursing through her body. Not wasting an opportunity, Akame slashed the creature all cross it's back multiple times…but it had no effect, there wasn't even so much as a scratch!

Turbo's head rotated 180 degrees and glared right at her! Akame swung Murasame and the blade raked across #3's eyes but it did nothing! It wasn't even wounded or bleeding! A twinge of panic ran down Akame's spine.

#8 attacked from behind but Akame ducked down and slashed its legs but like before, it didn't do any harm! She dodged an overhead blow from #3 and quickly exited the building as fighting in an enclosed space against these things was a death sentence.

Akame tried to frantically think of some kind of strategy against them but as she saw #3 and #8 emerge from the building, she saw #3 disappear before her eyes! She immediately looked around the area to see where it went-

 _ **BWAM**_

An invisible force slammed into Akame, sending her skidding across the street! Whatever hit her had left her dazed, deafened and in great pain. She picked herself up-

 _ **BWAM**_

Akame was once again hit with bone-crushing force as she was flung deeper into the city!

 _ **BWAM BWAM BWAM BWAM BWAM BWAM**_

Again and again, she was ruthlessly pummeled by the invisible force, unable to see or sense where it was coming from! What Akame didn't know was that Mach 1 was moving so fast that it was breaking the sound barrier but it was timing them so that they directly affected her!

Mach 1 detonated another sound barrier behind Akame, the force so powerful that it sent her pinballing straight towards Turbo! It boosted towards her and clotheslined her with bone shattering force! As Akame spun in the air, Turbo activated the miniature jets on its right gauntlet and delivered a powerful uppercut to her back!

Akame crashed to the ground several meters away from the creatures, bleeding profusely. Nearly every bone in her body felt like it had been snapped in two. She struggled to her feet and saw her opponents slowing advancing towards her.

These monstrosities were unlike anything Akame had ever faced before. They had reduced her to a horribly wounded state in the span of a few minutes. But what made things look even more bleak was that she couldn't cut through whatever metal they were made of. That and their speed and power were unimaginable. She couldn't use her Trump Card since the boost in strength probably wouldn't make a difference and the constant pain that would affect her afterwards wouldn't help her at all.

But she couldn't give up. No…she could _not_ afford to lose. Their rampage had to be stopped before it was too late. She would not allow these things to walk away after slaughtering so many innocent people. Some of them deserved it, like Honest, but the rest had nothing to do with this.

They needed to die for all the lives they took…including her sister. Despite the words of encouragement Tatsumi gave her back in the north, there was no doubt that her sister was now another death for the monsters tally. With fury welling up from within, Akame tightly gripped Murasame and rushed towards them!

"ELIMINATE!" Akame roared, intent on focusing all her strength to increase the power of her swings!

In that instant, Mach 1 disappeared; it sped around right behind her and swung it's knives down into her back! But Akame spun around and blocked the knives with Murasame! Before #8 could follow up with a counter attack, Akame leaped up and drove her sword straight into its straw cap!

 _SHUNK_

It stopped moving. Had she done it?

 _SLICE_

Mach 1 slashed her Ankles, grabbed her legs and flung her straight towards Turbo! As #3 charged towards her, Akame thrusted Murasame towards it, using the speed and force at which she was thrown to inflict any kind of damage upon them.

The tip of Murasame collided with #3's forehead only for it to completely glance off! Akame's eyes widen in horror. _Nothing was working!_

Turbo grabbed Akame by the arm, held her up and instantly tightened its grip, _breaking her arm!_

 _ **KRACK**_

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Akame screamed! Her screams of agony were silenced as a metal hand clamped over her mouth. Turbo leaned in close to her face, it's blood-red eyes staring directly into her soul.

" _ **TERMINATE."**_

To be continued…

* * *

 **OH SNAP! I'm sorry, was that too soon?**

 **This was originally going to have all of the fights featured here but then I figured that a good way to rack up the suspense would be to release in separate parts. For example, while one member is fighting one of the Ultrabots, the others are in the background fighting as well.**

 **For those of you who think that the Ultrabots are too OP, I am well aware of that and I am merely following how the episode went. Keep in mind that the Ultrabots have impenetrable armor and advanced weapons so they were meant to be OP in the first place and Night Raid is understandably outmatched.**

 **Don't forget to review but please don't flame!**


	10. An Unstoppable Enemy (Part 2)

**Here's part 2 of the fight!**

 **Sorry this took long, Destiny 2 has been a major strain on my writing schedule.**

 **Review time!**

 **Sullimike23: Let's hope they can keep it together when he reveals that he created the Ultrabots.**

 **Noob6: I took your advice and did just that. Thanks a ton!**

 **Imperial warlord: Thanks.**

 **OMAC001: Let's hope they do!**

 **King Rocket: Thanks for letting me know that I kept them OP for the right reasons. I did mention in the authors notes of chapter 10 that they would run on oil and a condensed plasma reactor.**

 **You are right about Extor but I'm going to give a good reason on why he made them and once that happens, you will see him in a more sympathetic light. As for the Ultrabots unintentionally killing each other, read on and find out…**

 **Dino Knight: I bet you're happy to see that your ideas made it into my story!**

 **I understand where you're going with me offing the villains but when I mean unnecessary deaths, I meant the main cast; specifically Night Raid. And I get that the deaths of a majority of the villains was wish fulfillment but after the numerous atrocities they committed in the manga, they all had it coming.**

 **Anyway, glad to hear you liked the chapter and Extor will appear in the future, as well as giving him a bigger backstory. Not sure if I will add Scaramouche, I can't seem to visualize him as a human.**

 **MysticSpider: Wut?**

 **Strike the Blood: This chapter will be a tad bit longer. Also, I agree with Susanoo but many people have been asking me to use Leone instead so I might just go with that.**

 **Junior VB: That was already made apparent and don't lose faith in Night Raid yet.**

 **Pacer287: I totally understand where you are coming from. The original episode this was based went exactly like that and I merely just adapted it. With that being said, thank you for your opinion.**

 **Arkham Knight: I wanted to showcase just how outmatched Night Raid is and I enjoyed making the Ultrabots completely psycho-crazy.**

 **Idea Guy: I agree! You bring up great points about them! This will probably only happen in the miniseries I will make.**

 **Story Artist: Relax, that won't happen and the pairings will be Tatsumi x Mine, Wave x Kurome, Najenda x Lubbock and Leone x Run.**

 **Writing Warrior: Thanks and there will be 4 parts to this fight so you will get to see just how deadly they all are.**

 **The Question: All of that will be revealed in future chapter.**

 **Game Creation: This will be a 4 part story as well as several mini series featuring the characters from the show!**

 **Red John: I'm so sorry it took so long. This chapter will be longer!**

 **R98:LMFAO!**

 **Samurai Jack and Akame ga Kill belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

* * *

Chapter 10

An Unstoppable Enemy (Part 2)

KYOROCH

 _CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG_

Sheele's Extase and Army Slayer's massive greatsword repeatedly clashed against one another as errant sparks flew around them. Neither of them gained any ground, they were glued to the spot as the sounds of metal striking against metal echoed throughout the empty street.

While Sheele may be a total airhead when it came to just about everything in general, she was smart enough to know that things weren't looking good at all. For one thing, she had been lucky enough to land a couple of hits upon #1 but it didn't seem to do any harm to it or even leave a scratch. Extase was capable of cutting through almost anything so why wasn't it working against this thing?

Speaking of which, the creature she was fighting showed remarkable swordsmanship despite the cumbersome size of its greatsword. While it may look a giant slab of iron, it was capable of wielding it like it was a small stick. That meant that her opponent was freakishly strong.

What made it more dangerous was the fact that its weapon was just like Extase: one hit would be instant death. But the main difference was that while Extase couldn't kill the monster, its sword most certainly would kill Sheele.

Seeing something dart past #1 and straight towards her, Sheele jumped out of the way and onto the roof of a house in the nick of time as multiple black coils sliced apart the cobblestone path she was previously standing on. Looking down from atop the house, Sheele saw the dust clear to reveal #1's "friend". This one had 20 whips replacing both of its arms that ended in deadly looking scythe blades. Army Slayer and Whiplash turned their heads around to stare up at their target. Whiplash flung its tentacles straight at Sheele who quickly leapt onto another rooftop as its blades cleaved the structure in two!

Army Slayer leapt up to where Sheele and began swung its greatsword at her; she barley had enough time to duck as the blade swung right over her head! The two of them clashed once again but Whiplash took advantage of the currently occupied assassin and shot out his whips towards her! The stabbed into her legs, sides and arm, causing her to shriek in pain! Dodging another swing from #1, Sheele quickly yanked the blades out of her body parts and jumped down the building.

She hurriedly limped through the streets, clutching her bleeding side while also noting that taking #10's blades out of her had also cut her hands. _Badly._

She made it to a courtyard with a fountain and started to catch her breath. Looking behind her, she mentally cursed herself as she saw that she had left behind a trail of blood. This meant that those things were probably seeking her out right now. Slipping off her sleeves, Sheele wrapped one of them around her waist to cover the wound on her side while tearing the other one in two to create makeshift bandages for the cuts on her palms. She heard something coming and she whirled around to see #1 standing on top of a building a few feet away from her.

Sheele quickly got into action and readied Extase. Army Slayer casually hopped down to the street and slowly walked towards her.

 _SKRASH_

Whiplash suddenly thundered straight through the building behind Army Slayer and right at Sheele! Its tentacles flailed around menacingly, slicing apart anything near it! It launched all of its whips straight at her but Sheele managed to sidestep to the right and swung Extase downward, right on top of the tentacles.

But to her shock and frustration, it didn't cut through them despite how thin they were! The whips instantly coiled around Extase and began pulling Sheele towards Whiplash! Sheele saw #1 tightly gripping its greatsword and started to run towards her!

Sheele's mind began to race; trying to figure out how to get out of this. An idea suddenly popped up in her head (the first good one she's had in a while)!

Using all of her strength, Sheele began swinging Extase around in a circle before #10 could react! #1 swung its great sword at her but Sheele anticipated this and swung #10, who was still clinging onto Extase, right into the path of its sword! Army Slayer's greatsword smashed right into Whiplash's midsection which created a shower of sparks that briefly blinded Sheele! Whiplash was sent crashing into a deserted shop as Sheele regained her balance and focused on Army Slayer.

It was currently looking at the building where its comrade had crashed into and Sheele took advantage of its distraction. She swung Extase at #1's hand and it knocked the greatsword of its grasp! Sheele opened up Extase and thrusted her Teigu forward so that #1's head was now in between of the razor-sharp shears.

With the killing blow in her grasp, Sheele closed down on the handles and the blades clamped down on #1's neck!

 _CHUNK_

Army Slayer's head still remained attached to its shoulders! Sheele gasped in shock and confusion. Over and over again the closed the shears down upon its neck but it had literally no effect! The sharpest parts of Extase were literally unable to cut through its metal!

 _CHUNK CHUNK CHUNCK CHUNK_

Army Slayer grabbed the shears and forcible shoved the Teigu away from it, causing Sheele to trip. He went up to her, grabbed the sides of her head a head-butted her with the force of a sledgehammer!

 _THWACK_

The hit broke her nose and sent her crashing to the ground as Army Slayer turned around and went over to reacquire its greatsword. Clutching her bloodied nose, Sheele saw #1 pick up its weapon and turn towards her with those ghastly eyes. She held up Extase and activated her Trump Card, creating a flood of blinding light that shone throughout the whole area.

Knowing that she couldn't possibly defeat these things, Sheele knew that she and everyone had to retreat. If her Teigu couldn't cut through them then that meant the rest of her team was fighting a losing battle. As Sheele prepared to flee while her foe was blinded, she took comfort in the fact that she was able to trick one of the creatures into killing one of their own. There was no way it could still be alive-

 _SHULRK_

A bladed whip shot out and _ripped open Sheele's left cheek!_

" _KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGKKKKKKKKKKK!"_

A bloodcurdling shriek forced its way through Sheele's mouth as she tightly held her hand against her profusely bleeding face! Mind-numbing pain permeated her face; Sheele could barely keep it together! She then saw #1 rush towards her, seemingly immune to the blinding light of Extase!

Sheele barley had enough time to lift her Teigu up to guard against its strike. However, there was much more force behind the swing, so much that it sprained her wrist and sent her crashing through a building! She tumbled across the street as Extase landed inches away from her head. She weakly got to her feet, blood streaming down her clothes as she grabbed Extase but then jerked her hand away when searing pain shot through her wrist.

She looked back the building behind here to see #1 walk through the remains and glare right at her. Sheele grasped Extase with her other hand as she tried her hardest to ignore the searing pain on the side of her face. But to her horror, she saw #10 walk up next to #1 completely unharmed!

Sheele was now deathly afraid. She had never felt this utterly terrified before in her entire life. These things were _unstoppable_ and if she and the rest of her friends didn't get out of her now, they would end up just like their victims. As Army Slayer and Whiplash slowly made their way towards her, Sheele was chillingly reminded of Prince Numa Seika's dying words…

" _They are demons sent straight from hell."_

* * *

"SHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Leone yelled as she ran through the streets of the ruined desert city! Ripper followed closely behind her while Tengu and Singularity soared above their prey. The two of them dive-bombed the hapless assassin!

Tengu dove down and swiped at Leone with its kukris; she managed to duck down and make a sharp turn to her left, heading into an alley. Singularity spotted her from the air and fired a volley of laser blasts at Leone from its fingertips, its four support drones doing the same.

Leone ran as fast as she could while dodging the shots and sprinted out of the alleyway using her enhanced speed, thanks to Lionel. Ripper followed closely behind her and lashed out with its curved wristclaws. Leone dodged the swipes but then lost her footing and #2 stabbed her straight through her shoulders!

"AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHH!" Leone cried out as she grabbed #2 by its hands and forcefully pulled out the claws. She slashed it across the face with her own but they shattered like glass against its metal skin! Leone winced in pain as #4 swooped in and swung its kukris downward at her.

She leapt out of the way and punched #4 square in the face but she only ended up breaking her knuckles! Tengu and Ripped launched into a barrage of attacks with their weapons. Leone dodged as fast as she could but these things were quicker and she started taking serious damaged from them. Her body was now covered in deep, bloody lesions and her regenerative factor was having trouble trying to heal her wounds.

Ripper and Tengu suddenly leaped way from Leone as Singularity landed to the ground in from of her. It aimed its laser fingers at her while it's drones started targeting her. Leone darted to her right and into a bar.

 _PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW_

The laser blasts ripped through the bar like it was made of tissue paper! The entire establishment was being riddled with holes as numerous tables, chairs and alcoholic beverages were reduced to splinters. Leone ducked down as low as she could and covered her head. It went on for several minutes with seemingly no end in sight until it suddenly stopped. Leone heard the creatures leave and slowly peeked over the counter to see that they were gone.

Leone breathed a sigh of relief and sunk back behind the counter; blood dribbling from her wounds. Leaning up against it, she felt anger rise though her but resisted the urge to slam her fist into the floor, fearing that it may alert her opponents.

What the hell were these monsters?! In the beginning she thought that her enhanced strength would be enough to take them down but every time she hit them, she wound up breaking her fingers or her knuckles. Kicking them certainly didn't work either. She almost ended up snapping her leg in two!

Then things really started to go south when they all ganged up on her. She couldn't take them on all at the same time since that would be tantamount to suicide. The best thing to do was to try and pick one off before moving on to the next one.

She could hear the sounds of battle echoing throughout the empty city; a sign that her friends were still fighting them but there was no way to tell if Night Raid was winning or not. Feeling her cuts close themselves up and the bones in her hand pop back into place, Leone prepared to head out and hunt down the creatures when they were alone.

Before she got up, she noticed a bottle of booze lying near her. She tried to resist the urge to take a swig but temptation finally kicked in and she grabbed the bottle. She pulled off the cork and took a long gulp. Feeling the alcohol pour down her throat and soothe her nerves, quietly sighed in content.

Her animal instincts suddenly started to alert her of extreme danger and before she could react, she heard a light thumping sound and a shadow loom over her. She slowly looked up to see _#2 standing on top of the counter and looming right over her!_

Ripper raised its claw over its head. **"LAST CALL."**

It swung its claw downward but Leone managed to dodge it in time! #2 repeatedly swung and thrusted it's claws at her with deadly precision! Leone dodged the swipes as much as she could but knew that she couldn't keep it up for long. Both of its claws shout towards her face and she grabbed #2 by the arms before they could pierce her.

However, #2 proved to be stronger than Leone as it slowly began to overpower her. As the implements of murder inched closer to her face, Leone spotted a box of matches sitting behind the counter on a small shelf. Noticing that the floor was slick with alcohol as well as multiple barrels of it on the wall behind her, Leone heaved #2 over her head and slammed it into the barrels!

She grabbed the matches, jumped over the counter, lit one up and tossed it and the box at #2!

 _ **FWOOOOOOSH**_

The entire back end of the bar went up in flames, obscuring #2's body. Leone breathed a sigh of relief as the flames started to make its way up to the ceiling. As she turned around to exit the bar, #4 flew straight through the doors with its kukris drawn! Leone barely had enough time to duck down and dodge its swing and follow up with a flip kick to its face but ending up nearly shattering her foot!

Undeterred, Tengu unfurled its' wings and flapped a gust of wind towards her, knocking her off her feet and into a support beam. Leone managed to rebound herself off the beam and rocket towards #4 who shielded itself with its wings just as she collided with them in a flying dropkick. Leone hopped off the wings and got into a fighting stance just as #4 did the same. Just as Leone was about to attack, she saw #2 emerge from the fire unscathed!

"OH, COME ON! Haven't you guys ever heard of a handicap?!" Leone exasperated.

" **HANDICAPS ARE IRRELEVANT."**

A red light started to emanate from outside as Singularity started to charge up its energy beam to a fever pitch. Its palms glowed brightly as the targeting systems in its eyes locked on to Leone. She saw #5 aim at her from the entrance and she bolted toward the window behind her and crashed through it just as two conical beams of crimson energy erupted from Singularity's palms and tore through the bar like a hot knife through butter!

 _ **VEEEEEEEEEEWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP**_

Noticing that it missed, Singularity redirected its aim at Leone who ran as fast as she could while the beams of energy cut through the establishment and went after her! As Leone began to flee for her life, the beams cut straight through several buildings as #5 rotated its body clockwise to track her and guide the beams toward her.

Despite Leone's enhanced speed, thanks to Lionel, the beams were starting to near dangerously closer to her. As she looked around for an escape and she spotted a well in the middle of the street just head of her! She made a beeline to the well dove right into just as the beam sept over her head, nearly taking off her animal ears and tail!

She splashed down into the water all the way at the bottom and when she resurfaced, she swam towards a network of tunnels that she could traverse in order to get back up to the city and think of another strategy.

Ripper, Tengu and Singularity looked down the well and then at each other.

" **WE SHOULD PURSUE."**

" **NEGATIVE. I HAVE CALCULATED AN ALTERNATE SOLUTION."**

Singularity levitated into the air while Ripper and Tengu stood back. Channeling energy from his palms, fingers and support drones, created a massive ball of extremely volatile energy and lobbed it straight down the well!

 _ **BAAAAAAAAAAWHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

A whole section of the city swelled up and a massive explosion ripped apart the area, sending Leone hurtling through the sky! Singularity flew up to Leone, clasped its fists together and brought them down upon her, slamming her back down to the earth! She crashed through the roof of a restaurant and left a crater in the wooden floor!

"Urgh…." Leone groaned as she struggled to get up. She had several broken of bones, she was covered in burns from the explosion and she was in a great deal of pain. She grabbed a nearby table for support and got herself up. She looked at her wounds to see them healing but due to the situation, they were not healing quickly enough. "C'mon….c'mon!" She growled impatiently.

 _SKRASH_

Singularity smashed through the ceiling and set its sights on her! Leone's heart skipped a beat and she swiveled around to her opponent. Singularity raised its hands up but instead of firing lasers at her, numerous chairs, tables and debris started to float around the room! Before she could even register how it was able to do that, she was pummeled from all sides by the objects!

She was hit by chairs and tables that slammed into her body and face and sharpened pieces of debris threatened to spear into her chest but she smashed them apart with her bare fists before they could, the same went for the chairs and tables.

Singularity guided its hand over to the kitchen area and a swarm of kitchen knives closed in on her! Leone grabbed a table to shield herself and the blade embedded themselves into the table. Leone flung it towards #5 where it shattered upon impact but Leone tackled the creature to the ground!

She straddled #5 and began furiously punching it in the face as hard as could while using as much strength as she could get from Lionel. Unfortunately for her, her blows did nothing to #5. It wasn't even attempting to defend itself! Leone's blows started become faster and stronger but began breaking her fingers and hands in the process.

Leone ignored the pain in her hands as she continued to hammer away at her emotionless opponent, becoming more and more angrier with each fruitless hit.

"WHY! WON'T! YOU! JUST! _DIE?!"_ Leone raged!

Suddenly, Singularity's four support drones smashed through the windows and riddled her back with their lasers! Leone hissed in pain and then felt #5's hand clamp around her throat! It stood up while keeping an iron grip on her neck and hoisted her high into their air with one hand, leaving her legs and horribly mangled hands dangling.

" **YOU CANNOT KILL THAT WHICH HAS NO LIFE."**

 _WHOCK_

#5 punched Leone straight through there entrance where she crashed into the street. She staggered to her feet and ran as fast as she could away from the diner but #4 swooped in out of nowhere and _hacked her arms off at the elbows!_

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGHHH!"_

As she screamed in agonizing pain, #2 somersaulted off a rooftop, landed in front of Leone and began viscously stabbing her in the chest with its claws!

 _SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK SHUK_

Ripper then removed the claws from Leone and slashed her throat! As she gargled on her own blood, #5 burst through the building and fired two blasts of energy from its palms! They bored straight through her chest and stomach with so much force that it propelled her into a butcher shop! The building collapsed in on itself and crumbled into rubble. The Ultrabots stood a few feet away from the destroyed shop. They could still detect life signs….

 _SMASH_

A yellow, beastly fished shot through the debris and Leone emerged completely unharmed! Her arms had grown back and there wasn't a single scratch on her. She looked somewhat more muscular now and she held a large slab of steak in her hand.

"Surprised?" She asked them rhetorically. "If there's anything I'm confident in, it's my tenacity and stubbornness." She then took a huge bite out of the steak and finished off the rest in one bite.

"My Trump Card can really help me out in a pinch but it can receive a boost in regeneration and strength when I eat other animals. Luckily for me, you dumbasses had the misfortune of launching me into some prime meat I can chow on." Leone boasted as she cracked her knuckles. "Now you get fight against a full blooded lion!"

" **YOUR HEAD."**

"What?"

" **CAN YOU REGENERATE YOUR HEAD IF IT IS DESTROYED?"**

"Ummm…..no."

They began to advance towards her, their weapons at the ready. Leone's bravado was extinguished as she began to slowly back away. This fight was going to happen the exact same way. She knew that her beefed up strength still wouldn't do jack shit against whatever these things were made of. She really wanted to turn tail, grab everyone and get the hell out of doge as fast as she could.

But Leone knew that wasn't an option. These creates had to die for every life they took, including every friend she made back in her neighborhood. And yet, she knew that wasn't going to happen either.

"F*** my life…" Leone muttered as she prepared for another one sided fight.

To be continued…

* * *

 **Looks like things are really starting to go south! Will Lubbock, Chelsea, Bulat and Tatsumi fare better than the others?**

 **I decided to give Sheele and Leone some much needed touch-ups during their fight. One example is that I made Sheele a little bit smarter and more aware of her opponents.**

 **The biggest adjustment I made was for Leone. A changed up her regeneration Trump Card so that it would slow down a little if she was getting continually pummeled. The part where she instantly regenerates by eating animal meat was based on her fight against Dorothea in chapter 60 of the manga. I added in the strength buff myself.**

 **I will be taking a short break to work on at least one or two chapters of RWBY: Gun Sonata. Fear not; you guys won't have to wait half a year till the next update.**

 **Don't forget to review but please don't flame.**


	11. An Unstoppable Enemy (Part 3)

**Here's an early Christmas gift to you all! Happy Holidays!**

 **I've been noticing a lot of people as of late asking me to add Scaramouche in my story. I have decided that I will incorporate him into my miniseries when I eventually get to it. He will be a humanoid Teigu just like Susanoo and they will both be rivals!**

 **Also, I will have Leone meet the Scotsman. I think they have much better chemistry with each other, in terms of hot headedness and boisterous personality.**

 **Review Time!**

 **Pyromania101: More excitement heading your way!**

 **SulliMike23: In more ways than you can imagine.**

 **Junior VB: Thanks for the response.**

 **Dino Knight: You're very welcome!**

 **MysticSpider: Thanks!**

 **Arkham Knight: I have made the Ultrabots be** _ **very**_ **sadistic in terms of personality. I think I made it work.**

 **Strike the Blood: The purpose of this 4 part chapter is to showcase just how monstrously powerful they are.**

 **King of Fans: good points but you see the results in the chapter below. I have OK'd the Scotsman and Scaramouche but I'm still debating whether or not to include the Daughters of Aku.**

 **King Rocket: Relax dude, I was only taking a cue from the manga fight with Dorothea and I promise that whole cliché won't happen again.**

 **Vitork: I share your opinion but Samurai Jack will not appear in this story. Still thinking about Ashi and the Daughters, though.**

 **Guest #1: I guess you're rooting for the Ultrabots then?**

 **NRG: THERE IS.**

 **Colossalblackening: A good story but I'm not even close to his backstory yet so it's still up in the air. I have agreed to add him though!**

 **Wayword son: An interesting concept but I'm not a big X-Men guy so it probably won't happen.**

 **Red John: A very plausible situation and I like your theory! Liver and Esdeath will play a big part in this and I do have something very special in store for her. You also bring up a valid point: if this was "End of series Esdeath", she might've been able to take out at least two of them but would eventually be overwhelmed.**

 **Akin2018: I'm glad you enjoy my story and I'm thinking about it.**

 **Dark Avenger: I have something similar like that planned but I won't reveal it just yet.**

 **Story Artist: Yeah, real dumb move on her part.**

 **Jfazende5: It's also good to see someone who shares my opinion! I too am angry at Seryu but I do pity her somewhat and want to see her change. I've never been a fan of Kamen Rider nor do I have any interest in it but I'll try to check out the story.**

 **Guest #2: It's here!**

 **Akame ga Kill and Samurai Jack belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

* * *

Chapter 11

An Unstoppable Enemy (Part 3)

KYOROCH

Lubbock was thrown through the walls like a ragdoll as he tumbled across the floor. Every part of his body hurt due to the nasty looking burns he had sustained in his fight against #13. He opened his eyes and was met with the interior of the building in flames and his eyes stung from the smoke. As he got up, coughing and trying his best to ignore the burning pain coursing through his skin, he saw #13 emerge from the wall he was thrown through. The metal monster was covered in flames and its hands were ablaze with deadly hellfire as it flowed from its hands like a waterfall. Firestarter raised its palms as it slowly made its way towards Lubbock, who was desperately searching for a way out of the burning building.

" **IF YOU CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT-"**

"Let me guess: get out of the kitchen?" Lubbock tiredly interrupted, rolling his eyes.

" **NO.** _ **DIE**_ **."**

 _FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH_

A jet of fire erupted from its palms but Lubbock managed to dive out a nearby window just as the flames engulfed the entire room. Lubbock fell to the ground below but he used Cross Tail to form a makeshift grappling hook that latched onto another building. Using the momentum of his swing, he was able to propel himself over the buildings in an arc until he safely landed into a marketplace-like area. He collapsed to his hands and knees in exhaustion and pain. Things were not going well.

No matter how hard he tried, Cross Tail couldn't do any kind of harm upon these things. He tried strangling it, stabbing it, trapping it, binding it but they all had no effect! Every single time the creature tore straight through the wires like they were made of paper or literally melted them with its flamethrower hands. He looked down at himself and saw the numerous, 1st degree burns on his arms, hands, legs and chest. He was lucky that he managed to put out most of the flames and prevented any prolonged burning but they were still very serious wounds that needed to be treated. He took off his badly burnt coat and chucked it away before checking the condition of Cross Tail.

Lubbock felt himself pale as he saw that the spool containing his string showed that he was dangerously low. For the longest time since he had Cross Tail he never ran out since the wires were tough than steel and could never be cut so he never had to worry about running out. But now he had very little string left thanks to the killer garbage can from hell. It was time to pull out his Trump Card: Realm Cutting Thread.

 _ **BWAFOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

A thundering explosion caused Lubbock to look up just in time to see a fireball rise into the sky and plummet down straight towards him! He dove behind a nearby wall just as the fireball crashed down to the ground, creating a plume of flame that incinerated the whole marketplace. Lubbock peered over the wall and was greeted with the terrifying sight of the monster standing amongst a lake of fire, its head turning 360 degrees to look straight at him with its crimson eyes.

As it walked towards him, flames beginning to seep out from its palms, Lubbock began to unspool the strongest threads made from the Danger Beast that Cross Tail was created from. With his Trump Card at the ready, Lubbock rushed forward at his opponent just as it raised its hands and fired a stream of fire at him. Lubbock dodged to the left and slid underneath #13's legs while sending his wires coiling around all over its body while anchoring them to the ground and other buildings. He tugged the strings as the metal monster was suspended off the ground with its arms and legs outstretched.

Now that it had been successfully disabled by Realm Cutting Thread, Lubbock tightly gripped his strings and pulled with all his might. His Trump Card was hard enough to cut through the strongest metal and diced any unfortunate opponent into bloody confetti.

However…Realm Cutting Thread was having no effect!

Lubbock tugged on the threads as hard as he could but they weren't cutting through the creature! Lubbock mind went into full blown panic mode. He was now deathly afraid of this seemingly invincible demon that was impervious to all of his attacks.

" **I DO NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO LAUGH. BUT IF I COULD…** _ **THIS WOULD BE IT**_ **."**

Smaller jets of fire began to emanate from Firestarter's fingertips until they formed its signature weapon: the Burner Jet Claws. It wrenched its right hand free from its bindings and sliced Ream Cutting Thread into ribbons with its claws. Each swing burned right through the wires like a hot knife through butter. Firestarter was now free, standing tall with strands of severed string draped across its body as it focused on its terrified prey.

#13 Charged towards Lubbock who barely had enough time to form body armor made from Cross Tail's string. #13 swung its left hand upwards and sliced through the armor, leaving behind horrible claw marks and 2nd degree burns. Lubbock yelled out in pain just as Firestarter backhanded him, spinning him around. It then raked its claws across his back and slammed his foot into his side so hard that it broke one of Lubbock's ribs and sent him skidding through the streets.

The pain was almost unbearable for the assassin. Blood was seeping from his wounds and the burns were so intense that it felt like he had been branded multiple times nonstop. The sound of heavy footsteps made him turn his head around to see #13 charging towards him, ready to finish him off!

 _ **SMAAAAAAAASSSSHHH**_

Something barreled straight through a building next to the advancing monster and slammed into it, launching it several feet into the air and away from Lubbock. His jaw fell open at the sight of a building-sized Danger Beast right in front of him! It was a Rhinok: a rhinoceros Danger Beast that was known for being coated in nearly impenetrable bedrock, as well as its fierce temperament. Lubbock noticed that the beast was heavily wounded; its boulder-like hide was cracked in numerous places and bled in some other areas of its body. The Rhinok spotted Lubbock and instantly transformed into a Jackaleo in a puff of smoke!

The three horned, lion-like Danger Beast carefully scooped up Lubbock with its horn and plopped him on its back. Lubbock gripped onto its fur for dear life as it ran through the streets of Kyoroch at breakneck speed. Firestarter immediately gave chase as it covered itself in flames until it became a massive fireball, plowing through buildings as it pursued its targets relentlessly. The Jackaleo weaved through the tight streets in an attempt to lose the creature (while also making sure that it didn't accidently throw Lubbock off it's back) but it barreled through any obstacle in its path, quickly catching up with them!

Firestarter fired a larger jet of flames from his palms behind him and shot towards the Danger Beast like a comet! The Jackaleo made a hard right just in time as the monster smashed into a deserted garrison, destroying it in a massive explosion of searing flames. The Danger Beast jumped from rooftop to rooftop until it finally landed in Kyoroch's park area.

Lubbock hopped off the Jackaleo just as it collapsed to the ground, breathing and bleeding heavily. Lubbock was just about to inspect its wounds when a puff of smoke erupted around it and when it cleared, it was revealed to be none other than Chelsea!

Night Raid's master of disguise looked _really_ bad. Her skin was ruptured in some places, she was covered in bruises, her right eye had swollen shut, and her dress was torn up and stained with her blood. Her iconic earmuffs had been snapped in half while her breathing was labored and painful.

"Oh, jeez! Chelsea!" Lubbock gasped as he rushed over to her. He slung her free arm of his shoulder and helped her up. "Are you-"

Lubbock was cut off by an annoyed look from Chelsea. "Alright. You're obviously not okay. That was a stupid question." He admitted.

"Glad you saw it coming." Chelsea remarked. "I take it you're fight's gone belly up?"

"You have no idea. Just what the hell are these things?!"

"I have no clue…listen; we have to get out of here. We're only going to get killed if we try to fight." Chelsea said urgently.

"I don't think that's even possible. These things are making sure we don't leave here alive. Mister 'Burn Everything That Moves' is making good on that promise." Lubbock said, albeit grimly.

"Really? Same goes for my opponent." Chelsea admitted.

"Which one?"

The sound of heavy footsteps altered them and the duo turned around to see another one of the monsters appearing them, this one was armed with a pair of technologically advanced Escrima Sticks and was numbered 9.

" _That_ one."

At the same time, #13 rounded the corner of a ruined building and walked towards them, leaving a small trail of fire in its wake. Firestarter and Gemini began to slowly circle Lubbock and Chelsea like sharks as the duo stood back to back against their metal enemies.

"Okay, we need a plan. How did your fight go?" Lubbock asked as he brainstormed a strategy to kill these things. _Any_ strategy.

"Not well. I've transformed into the most powerful Danger Beasts I know but I can't even so much as hurt these things." Chelsea revealed.

"Same with me. I used Realm Cutting Thread and it didn't do shit!" Lubbock groused. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "That's it!" He exclaimed, snapping his fingers.

"What? You got a plan? Coming from you, it better be a good one."

"You can use Gaea Foundation to transform into them. That way you'll be able to use their own weapons against them!"

Chelsea turned her gaze to the ground. "I already tried that…I can't copy them."

"What!? Why?!"

"Gaea Foundation can only allow me to transform into a person or an animal. I can't transform into inanimate objects. These monsters aren't _living beings."_ Chelsea explained with a hint of fear in her voice.

Lubbock went pale." What do you mean-"

He was cut off as their opponents charged at the two of them! Gemini went for Lubbock while Firestarter targeted Chelsea. Gemini swung its sticks downward at Lubbock who managed to dodge out of the way in time and used Cross Tail to create a bladed polearm to fight with. Chelsea transformed into an eagle and flew out of the way just in time as Firestarter swiped at her with its burning claws.

Undeterred, #13 fired a plume of fire upwards at Chelsea in an attempt to shoot her down. She was thankfully out of range but the sheer heat of the flames caused her feathers to spontaneously combust! She shrieked as she plummeted down to the ground, transforming back into her regular self as she fell. She hit the ground, fracturing her arm in the process and sending Gaea Foundation sliding away from her. Chelsea fought through the pain and creaked open her eyes to see #13 running towards her while covered in fire!

Chelsea scrambled towards her Teigu as fast as she could while frantically flinging her kunai at #13 but its flames were so hot that they literally _melted_ before they could even touch it! Chelsea finally reached Gaea Foundation just in the nick of time as Firestarter leaped into the air and activated it's Burner Jet Claws, ready to strike her down. Feeling the heat getting closer and closer, Chelsea quickly went through her options and realized that there was one Danger Beast she hadn't transformed into yet.

Firestarter was just about to impale Chelsea with its claws while burning alive but a wave of razor sharp crystals erupted from the earth just as its target disappeared in a puff of smoke! The crystals hit Firestarter but only succeeded in pushing it back a distance, not harming it. It got itself up as the smoke began to clear.

The petite, auburn haired girl was replaced by Diamond Yeti! It was an ape-like Danger Beast with blue tinted skin, while fur and parts of its body was covered in solid diamond. Wrist blades made out of said crystal jutted out where the knuckles were, giving it a fearsome and nearly impenetrable appearance. Chelsea thumped her chest and let out a guttural roar as she embraced the Danger Beat's wild side. She charged towards #13 while it activated its flaming claws and prepared to engage in battle.

Lubbock parried each swing that came at him but it didn't make his situation any better. #9 was constantly putting him on the defensive, leaving him no means of hitting back. Each of its attacks was precise and relentless while Lubbock couldn't risk using up the last of Cross Tail's string. He dodged a horizontal swipe from #9 and hooked its left leg with his polearm and gave it a quick yank, causing the creature to topple to the ground.

Lubbock raised his polearm and swung downward at its head but Gemini blocked the blow with its sticks and slammed his foot into Lubbock's chest! He was sent skidding a distance from #9 as he began to cough up blood. The fight was finally starting to take its toll on him and he would last much longer. Lubbock groggily got and picked up his polearm just in time to see #9 running towards him. Lubbock readied himself but then, to his astonishment, he saw it split into another one!

The twins flanked around Lubbock in a pincer maneuver and charged at him from the left and right. Lubbock trusted his polearm at the one on the left but it went straight through it like it was a ghost! He was so distracted by what just happen that he didn't notice Gemini raise its stick and hit Lubbock across the back of the head! The mimic followed up by slamming its stuck down onto his collarbones and the two of them launched into a flurry of attacks, pulverizing Lubbock all over his body!

 _THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK_

Lubbock could barely move or even defend himself as he was relentlessly pummeled from head to toe. For the coup de grace, Gemini and its mimic activated their weapons special function. Two small compartments opened up on each stick that would release microscopic bomblets as soon as it hit something. They spun around; hit Lubbock in the back with their escrima sticks and the bomblets deployed.

 _ **BAM BAM BAM BAM**_

Four small, but very powerful explosions ruptured Lubbock's skin, making him yell out in horrible pain as blood flowed from his wounds! Gemini holstered its right stick, grabbed Lubbock by the throat and flung him through the window of a building where he smashed through another window and tumbled through the street.

Lubbock was in horrible pain as he lay in the street, covered his bruises, burns and wounds. He was completely spent and unable to fight back with Cross Tail, which now only had very little thread left. A massive, deafening explosion caught his attention as a cloud of fire erupted into the city and something huge was launched from it and crashed down next to Lubbock! He barely had enough time to crawl away before whatever it was squashed him like a bug.

The smoke cleared, revealing a badly burnt Diamond Yeti with most of its diamond armor and wrist blades shattered or reduced to molten slag. Lubbock instantly knew that it was Chelsea. He hurriedly limped over to her as she transformed back in a puff of smoke. She was barely conscious as she winced in unbearable agony from her burns.

"Chelsea! Come on, stay with me!" Lubbock shouted as he took her in his arms. The only response Chelsea could muster as a pained whimper. Hearing the footsteps of the appearing monsters, Lubbock mustered all the strength he could and carried Chelsea in his arms as he ran through the empty streets to find a place to hide.

Trying his hardest to block out the pain, he prayed that Najenda and the others were having an easier time than the two of them did.

* * *

Bulat was _not_ having an easy time.

The 100-Man Slayer fell to one knee as he clutched the bleeding gash in his side. Incursio did little to help him as most of the armor had been ripped off or shattered in some areas, exposing his unarmored areas. His halberd, Neuntote, had multiple chips and cracks along the blade. Bulat's breathing was coarse and labored while his heart-shaped pompadour was now a ragged mess.

Bulat looked ahead of him and saw two of his opponents standing at the end of the street while the 3rd one stood atop a nearby building behind them. Onslaught and Auger stood imposingly without budging an inch while Deadeye surveyed from above, its sniper rifle clutched firmly in its grasp. He gritted his teeth in frustration; these things were not only insanely powerful but they were utterly relentless.

Incursio's armor was no match against their weaponry and Neuntote couldn't inflict any kind of damage no matter how much force he put into his swings. To make matters worse, he could feel a lingering presence in the back of his mind that was slowly beginning to crawl up from the depths and threatened to overtake him. There was no doubt about it. That presence was none other than the infamous Danger Beast that Incursio was made from: _Tyrant._

Bulat had always trained himself both physically and mentally to keep Tyrant from taking over. He knew the risks that came with using Incursio and there was always the chance that the beast would take control of him if he allowed the Teigu to evolve too much. There had to be another way to defeat these things without having to evolve.

Onslaught and Auger began to advance towards him while Deadeye took aim. Bulat stood up and began to analyze the situation. He couldn't fight #14 or #12 since their weapons had already decimated his armor and trying the fight them now would be a death wish. The biggest problem was #19. Its sniping skills were nothing to sneeze at and would make Mine jealous. It was methodically targeting the parts of his armor that had been weakened by its two companions and it would only be a matter of time before it went for his unarmored spots. If he could disarm or destroy its sniper rifle then he may, at the very least, be able to gain some kind of advantage over them.

In the blink of an eye, he bolted to the left and leapt up to the rooftops where ran across them with unparalleled speed. Auger opened fire with its explosive drill missiles while Onslaught let it loose with its photon orbs. Buildings were instantly blown to pieces and ripped apart but Bulat was one step ahead and he made a beeline towards #19.

Deadeye had Bulat right in its sight and pulled the trigger but Bulat moved to the left just as the round was about to hit him. Bulat was able to doge more shots from Deadeye s but then it fired a round at his kneecap the second he dodged, tearing away the armor and shattering the bone beneath it. This caused Bulat to stumble as he yelled out in pain which gave Onslaught enough time to launch multiple photon orbs at him.

The orbs adhered to his body and began to expand before they all exploded at the same time and sent Bulat crashing into a building so hard that it collapsed on top of him! As Auger and Onslaught moved in, Deadeye activated its infrared vision to better spot Bulat within the cloud of dust that had been kicked up when the building fell. Its eyes went from red to green as it chambered another round and took aim. But for some odd reason, Deadeye couldn't see Bulat anywhere.

 _VWOOOOOOSH_

Deadeye rotated its head around to see the heavily battered and bloodied form of Bulat, his armor in broken tatters, rising into the air with Neuntote held high above his head!

"RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!" He roared as swung his halberd down at its sniper rifle-

 _BRAKKA BRAKKA BRAKKA BRAKKA_

What Bulat didn't know was that Deadeye was protected by two machine gun drones that were hiding out of sight until it was time to strike! The rounds hit him across his midsection and right arm that were unprotected. He fell landed at the feet of Deadeye and began coughing up blood as it cascaded from his wounds. Bulat looked up just in time to see #19 wield its sniper rifle like a bat and clubbed him across the face, breaking off half of his helmet!

The force of the blow sent him sailing off the building where #14 jumped up and drilled into his back, tearing away the armor and leaving a massive gash across his back. It then flung him towards #12 who threw a right hook at Neuntote, smashing it like glass! It followed up with a left hook into his side, its sharpened piston stabbing into his body and sending him careening through several buildings.

The former Imperial Officer was in excruciating agony as he lay on the ground, blood beginning to pool around him. His vision had become hazy but could clearly make out the monsters approaching a distance away. He looked down at Incursio which had reverted to its original sword form but it was now cracked in several places. As blood began to dribble from his mouth, Bulat realized that there was no other alternative left: he had to embrace Incursio and allow it to evolve if he was to ever destroy these things. There was a very big chance that Tyrant's influence could take over his body but if it meant ridding the world of these soulless demons, _then so be it._

Bulat tightly gripped the hilt of Incursio and stabbed it into the ground. Onslaught, Auger and Deadeye approached their target with the intent to finish him off but then there sensors began to detect strange fluctuations coming from their target.

The air around Bulat started to shimmer as dust began to kick up around him. Suddenly, a semi-transparent physical manifestation of Tyrant appeared behind him!

' _Incursio…your_ _ **real**_ _body is still alive, isn't it?_ Bulat thought, seemingly mentally communicating with his Teigu. ' _I don't care how agonizing it'll be, or how much pain I'll feel, or even if you take over my body. Give me all the strength you can possibly give me! I can't let anybody else or my friends die! Give me the power to obliterate these monsters once and for all! GIVE ME EVERYTHING!'_

He let out a roar of fury as the manifestation of the Danger Beast enveloped him!

 _ **KAAAAAVOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

An invisible force radiated out of Bulat and sent Deadeye, Auger and Onslaught skidding away from him as smoke surrounded him. They recovered from the blast and stood back up, solely focused on the smokescreen. When the smoke cleared, Bulat and his Teigu had undergone a profound transformation.

His armor was the completely opposite of what it usually looked like. Instead of looking like a knight with a cape, it looked like a humanoid dragon wreathed in white, scaly plating that covered his whole body. His fingers and toes ended in bony claws while his helmet was a stylized black visor showing only his eyes and had two horns on the sides of the helmet. Neuntote had been regenerated, now appearing to be larger and sleeker.

But the most striking feature was Bulat's eyes. They had gone from a dashing dark blue to a crimson colored red with cross shaped pupils. Bulat flexed his hand and took note that the evolution had healed some of his wounds. It was enough for him but he did lose a lot of blood during the fight and he could feel the influence of Tyrant slowly creeping up on his psyche. But that didn't let it distracted him and he pointed Neuntote at his metallic adversaries who were reading their weapons.

"You've taken too many innocent lives…" Bulat glowered before launching himself at the creatures, an iron grip on his halberd and his eyes brimming with determination and fury!

"I WILL NOT LET IT GO ON!"

* * *

Tatsumi huddled down out of sight within a ruined house, his heart rapidly thumping in his chest. The boy was wide eyed and completely terrified. He darted his head left and right to make sure they hadn't followed him. He slid down the wall as he clutched the sides of his head.

He was in a nightmare and one that he was never going to wake up from. These things were monsters. Unbeatable, unkillable _monsters._ He couldn't make any kind of dent in them all! No matter how hard he tried he couldn't cut them. That's when they fought back.

Tatsumi couldn't even count how many times he had almost gotten himself killed. His clothes were in shredded tatters and he was covered in deep cuts on his arms, legs and chest. The way they wielded their weapons was like nothing he had ever seen before.

When they first encountered them, he heard Susanoo mentioning that they were not Teigus. So then what the hell were they?!The fact that he had no idea how to harm them scared Tatsumi greatly. This was nothing like his fight against Ogre or Zanku, this was entirely one sided.

The fear that Tatsumi was feeling had been replaced by shame. He ran. He ran away like a coward. But did he run because he couldn't stand a chance against these things? Or was it because he was scared? In fact, why was he just hiding? He was a member of Night Raid! If Bulat, Akame or the others ever saw him like this, he'd never hear the end of it. He smacked himself and shook himself out of his stupor.

Grabbing his sword, Tatsumi resolved to find a way to beat these creatures and maybe assist his fiends if possible. He cautiously inched towards the nearest window and carefully peered out. The streets were empty and there were no signs of the creatures anywhere. Tatsumi leaned his head back in a breathed a sigh of relief. He went back to the window to climb out of it only to be _greeted by the creature glaring right at him!_

Tatsumi's mouth fell open in shock but no scream escaped; he was that terrified.

" **FOUND YOU."**

Prism's light-green crystalline fist smashed through the wall, grabbed Tatsumi by the scruff off his shirt and pulled him through the wall! It then brought him up to its burning red eyes, scaring him further.

" **HIDE AND SEEK IS** _ **OVER**_ **."**

Prism slammed Tatsumi face first into the pavement and threw him across the street and darted towards him. Tatsumi got up and gripped his sword while blood poured from his nostrils. Just before he could attack, #7 held its right arm up and light from the sun reflected off the Elastitherium on his arms and shone right into Tatsumi's eyes, blinding him! Prism formed his arms into cestus like gauntlets and slugged Tatsumi across the face as he tried to shield his eyes from the blinding rays.

It then followed up with an uppercut that sent Tatsumi crashing into the ground but he quickly recovered and engaged #7 in combat. Prism formed a battle axe and the two combatants clashed, seemingly evenly matched an unable to gain any ground. The blades clashed for several minutes until Tatsumi thrusted his sword at its head but it caught it with its bare hands!

It formed a whip in its free hand and wrapped it around Tatsumi's throat and began slamming across the ground over and over again. Prism then formed a mace and slammed into Tatsumi's side, flinging him into a store of some kind. Tatsumi groaned in pain as the blow had shattered 3 of his ribs. He darted his eyes over to the smashed window he was thrown through but then heard the wall to his right explode outwards and #11 came at him while swinging its double ended spears!

He barely had enough time to start blocking the blows but his wounds from earlier were beginning to throw off his concentration and Yari yanked the gut hooks on the sides of his spears, lacerating Tatsumi's ankles.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!" He yelled as he collapsed to the ground, dropping his sword and clutching his bleeding ankles! He scrambled away from #11 as numerous swords, daggers, axes, war hammers, spears and his sword began to float around it. That's when Tatsumi realized that he was in a weapons shop! This thing was _magnetizing_ anything that was made of metal!

He saw #11 enter through the door and turned to Tatsumi. It created a pair of dual swords from its Elastitherium and moved towards him while Yari did the same. Tatsumi's mind began to race as he searched for a way out of this dire predicament. He noticed two wooden support beams that were heavily damaged and relatively thin. He instantly knew what he had to do.

Ignoring the horrible pain in his ankles, Tatsumi surged towards the first beam while avoiding #7's sword swings and threw himself at the beam. His full weight made it snap apart and dodged the numerous sharp implements that #11 threw at him. He stopped in front of the last beam just as his magnetic foe flung a war hammer in his direction. But Tatsumi planned for this and he dove out of the way just in time as the hammer smashed apart the beam.

The structure started to shake and Tatsumi bolted away from his enemies as they looked up. He grabbed his sword and pulled it out of the wall (embedded there from the previous barrage) before diving out the door before the entire building collapsed onto the metal creatures with a thundering crash. Tatsumi collapsed and looked at his cut ankles. They didn't look good and they were bleeding heavily. Tatsumi limped away from the area as fast as he could until he came upon a clinic. He hid inside the decimated abode and found bandages within the storeroom. After bandaging himself, Tatsumi began weighing his options. There was no way he or anybody else could win at this rate.

They had to escape. But how? They wouldn't be able to get very far with these things relentlessly pursuing them. Mabye there was some way to-

 _SHUNK_

A spike made out of crystal suddenly speared out from the wall, barely missing Tatsumi's head! He quickly backpedaled away from the wall as more spikes perforated the wall until it fell apart, forming a perfect circle. Tatsumi could only stare in horror as #11 and #7 emerged from the hole.

Yari eagerly scraped its spears together while Prism formed its Elastitherium into a scythe. They then advanced upon the petrified boy as he shook like a leaf…

To be continued...

* * *

 **Apologies if this took long folks, life in general got in the way.**

 **Two things I greatly enjoyed doing in this chapter was showcasing Chelsea's new abilities and Bulat going through Incursio's evolution.**

 **Like I said a couple of chapters ago, I gave Chelsea an overhaul in terms offensive combat by giving Gaea Foundation the ability to transform into Danger Beasts…okay so she always had that ability to begin with but I always thought that she could only transform into smaller ones, not the big ones so I gave her that nifty little addition.**

 **Bulat was fun to do because I always imagined what he would be like if he was the one who evolved Incursio instead of Tatsumi. It's kind of like the evolved form in the manga but a little bit taller and broader looking to fit Bulat's physique.**

 **For those of you who are wondering that Tatsumi's was weak in his fight, keep in mind that this does take place very early in the series so he's not at his strongest, nor does he have Incursio.**

 **The next chapter will be the final part of An Unstoppable Enemy and from here on out, things will really start to pick up.**

 **Don't forget to review but please don't flame.**


	12. An Unstoppable Enemy (Part 4)

**Welcome to the last part of An Unstoppable Enemy, everybody!**

 **I enjoyed doing these 4 part chapters as I wanted to showcase just how outmatched Night Raid was as well as show off just how technologically superior the Ultrabots are. Get ready for the big surprise at the end!**

 **Also, Happy Belated New Year!**

 **Review Time!**

 **Pyromania101: Thank you and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!**

 **Sullimike23: Bingo.**

 **Noob6: Thanks, I really did enjoy making all of them frightfully insane.**

 **Junior VB: But will it be enough to defeat them? Glad you understand Tatsumi's plight.**

 **King of Fans: Whoa now! Extor still has to help them!**

 **Guest #1: Calm down, you'll see.**

 **EyeCU: We'll see soon enough…**

 **Arkham Knight: Exactly. Humans were never meant to play God yet we still keep attempting it.**

 **RaptorRapist: Read on and find out!**

 **Guest #2: That would be an interesting idea for a continuation, but one I won't use.**

 **Gemm1t: Thanks!**

 **NRG: Year, a better alternative that to what originally happened to her.**

 **Strike the Blood: Much appreciated, my man. I'm a slow updater; just giving you the heads up.**

 **OMAC001: I have a knack for making goods fights, don't I?**

 **Guest #3: Sucks, don't it?**

 **Vitork: I may do a story about him sometime in the future.**

 **Jfazende5: I see where you are going but Aku won't arrive until part 4 which is YEARS ahead. And I'm just having fun writing; I don't have to be right.**

 **Akame ga Kill and Samurai Jack belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

* * *

Chapter 12

An Unstoppable Enemy (Part 4)

"This isn't happening fast enough! GET THEM OUT OF THERE!"

-President Whitmore, Independence Day

KYOROCH

Najenda dodged to the left just in time to avoid the wave of ice spikes erupting from the ground. She opened fire with her wrist mounted HMG at #17 but the large caliber bullets harmlessly bounced off its metallic hide. Black Ice rushed towards Najenda, its katars gleaming in the sun as it thrusted the blade at her head! Najenda craned her neck to the right just in time to dodge the blade but it caught her eyepatch and ripped it off; revealing her scarred, permanently shut eyelid after her eye had been punctured by Esdeath.

She followed up with an uppercut with her prosthetic arm but it did no harm to #17 as it speared it's katar straight through it, almost stabbing Najenda in her other eye! It grabbed her by the neck and flung her aside into a lamppost. Black Ice retracted it's katar from its hand and it became incased in ice as it fired a flurry of razor sharp icicles at Najenda! She instantly ran as fast as she could as they tore apart the surroundings in a hail of icy devastation.

Najenda vaulted over some rubble to avoid the incoming icicles and then popped out from behind cover to fire her grapple arm at #17, the prosthetic's hand balled into fist. It hit Black Ice straight in the face but it did no damage and only succeeded in staggering it. Seeing her chance, Najenda reeled the fist back to her and she rushed towards #17 with the hopes of finding a weak spot of some kind that could turn the tides in her favor.

But she suddenly halted in place when she noticed her feet encased in ice! Before she could try to beak herself free, #17 was upon her in an instant and sent a pillar of ice smashing into her chest! It launched her across the streets as Najenda quickly got herself up and opened fire with her HMG while aiming at #17's eyes. But it had no effect just like before as Black Ice continued to advance towards her unabated.

Her HMG finally ran out of ammo, further frustrating her. Najenda ran towards the creature and threw her metal fist straight at it with all her might. She hit it dead on but had no effect as Black Ice grabbed her other arm and twisted it while slicing her leg with its katar! It then smashed its elbow right into her face and then threw her over its shoulder, froze her legs in place again and did a flying dropkick straight into her chest that sent her careening through two buildings! But Black Ice wasn't done yet as it formed a hefty ball of ice in its hands and threw it like a baseball right at Najenda. It hit her right in the side of her head and nearly gave her a concussion.

Najenda's world was spinning right before her eyes as pain coursed through her body. She tried to get up but stumbled back down due to her leg injury and fractured arm. With the side of her head bleeding heavily, she looked up to see #17 slowly walking towards her, tightly gripping its katars. Her heart hammered inside her chest as sweat and blood poured down her face. This wasn't just fear she was experiencing… _it was PTSD._

This fight was just like how Esdeath ambushed her and her group when she defected from the Empire many years ago. The experience had cost her an eye and an arm as well as scarring her both mentally and physically. It also gave her an unflinching hatred towards her former comrade turned psychopath.

But it had also left her with nightmares and this fight was like they were literally coming to life to haunt her once again in the worst way possible. Najenda gnashed her teeth together in rage as she felt completely helpless to do anything just like so many years ago. Black Ice stood over her, utterly motionless as the leader of Night Raid trembled in fury.

"You monster….you godless son of a bitch….you and the others are just like Esdeath…" She silently hissed while digging her fingers into the ground. Black Ice continued to look down at her without saying a word. She instantly surged forward with her prosthetic fist reared back and ready to punch it with bone shattering force!

"YOU HAVE NO SOULS!" She roared!

Black Ice stabbed her arm with both of its katars, stopping the blow dead in its tracks.

" **THAT IS WHY WE FEEL NO FEAR."**

Ice began to encase her whole arm and #17 retracted its blades and smashed her prosthetic, shattering it and scattered bits and pieces of frozen metal across the ground! It froze Najenda's hands to the wall of a nearby building and then ran both of its katars _straight through her collarbones!_

 _SKLUTCH_

"GYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" She screamed! Black Ice then brought its face straight up to hers.

" **ESDEATH** _ **WISHES**_ **SHE WAS INCAPABLE OF FEELING FEAR."**

* * *

Susanoo whipped his head over to the source of the screaming. His master was in danger! His first instinct was to go help her immediately but then he was painfully reminded how his opponents weren't going to let him.

 _BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA_

 _FOOOM FOOOM FOOOM FOOOM_

 _KOOOMPH KOOOMPH KOOOMPH_

 _ **KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

A volley of bullets, rockets, grenades and mortars ripped apart the streets and buildings of Kyoroch, courtesy of Scorched Earth and Artillery Barrage. Susanoo dodged out of the way just in time as another large section of the city had been reduced to rubble. The Humanoid Teigu was currently in his Trump Card form: Magatama Manifestation. No longer dressed in his white robes, he now wore tattered black pants and his blue hair was now completely white. His body was considerably muscular with a circular disk-like object floated behind him and wielded a long, transparent sword known as Ame no Murakumo.

But the transformation did little to improve his odds. The disk had been split in half, his horns had been snapped off, Murakumo was cracked in half and there were multiple bullet holes and gashes all over his body, his blood flowing from the wounds and giving him an almost dead appearance. Susanoo knew that the situation was now untenable. His regeneration could barely keep up and had slowed down due to his tremendous injuries and his main form of defense, Yata no Kagami, had been rendered effectively useless now that it was in half. Despite the fact that it could reflect any projectile thrown at it, the sheer power and velocity that the bullets and explosives were launched from their weapons made it impossible for Yata no Kagami to offer any kind of protection as it ripped through the mirror with no resistance whatsoever.

Another problem was his primary offensive weapon was broken like a twig. What were these things made out of? Murakumo could cut through virtually anything but no matter how hard he tried; Susanoo just couldn't cut through them! He had even tried attacking while Yasakani no Magamata was active but even the boost in speed and strength wasn't enough!

But the biggest concern was his master. In the earlier stages of the fight, she activated his Trump Card for the first time in a while but she knew what she was sacrificing when she used it: her life force. But as the battle went on and when they weren't gaining any ground, Najenda used his Trump Card _a second time._ It gave him a tremendous boost in overall power but it also drastically, and _dangerously_ , reduced Najenda's overall lifespan. He prayed that she wouldn't be forced to use it a third time as while it might enable him to defeat these things; it would also mean further reducing her lifespan or worse, kill her. He couldn't bear to lose another master again or go back to dormancy.

There was no way he was going to let that happen again. There had to be some way to beat these things! He heard the sound of #6 nearing his position and he ducked out of sight. He t began to carefully run through the tight corners of the buildings so that he could escape without #6 seeing him. It was too bad that Scorched Earth could track his footprints.

 _BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA_

The roar of its dual miniguns turned buildings into Swiss cheese as Susanoo ran for dear life! Scorched earth continued to hover in the air with its helicopter function as it precisely tracked the humanoid Teigu's movements with its advanced targeting optics. Susanoo finally exited into a street and fled the incoming hail of bullets but they finally caught up to him and perforated his body and legs, his regenerative powers barely had enough time to prevent his legs from literally being sawed off.

He tumbled through the streets until he finally smashed into a building and Scorched Earth fired two rockets at it, blowing it into pieces. Susanoo instantly burst forth from the rubble and quickly made his escape only to have #16 round the corner of a nearby house and launch a volley of shrapnel grenades at him while firing its wrist mounted shotgun!

 _FWOOMP FWOOMP FWOOMP_

 _PAKOOM PAKOOM PAKOOM PAKOOM_

Susanoo quickly formed Yata no Kagami in front of him as the torrent of shrapnel filled grenade and shotgun shells neared him. The mirror was instantly torn to shreds and Susanoo had to shield himself with his arms as they tore up his body. But Susanoo continued to push forward and thrusted the end of his broken yet still sharp blade at #16. Artillery Barrage dodged out of the way and fired a grenade at Susanoo but the humanoid Teigu blocked it with Murakumo and prepared to attack. But then he began to hear a sizzling sound coming from his sword. He looked down and saw to his horror that a sticky green substance was melting his blade straight down to the hilt!

Taking advantage of its distracted prey, Artillery Barrage ducked down and aimed its back mounted mortar at him. The shell hit him dead on and the force of the explosion sent a charred Susanoo spiraling through the air! Scorched Earth made a beeline towards him and fired its rockets at him, this time they were on target. They slammed into Susanoo and sent him throttling to the ground were they finally exploded on impact. Susanoo instantly emerged from the smoke cloud and ran for his life like a bat out of hell. It was official: there was absolutely no way they could win at this rate. He and everyone else had to escape.

Scorched Earth hovered in the sky as it locked on to Susanoo and fired a barrage of missiles at him from the pods on its shoulders. Susanoo made a hard right to avoid the missiles but was shocked to see that they were following him! He kept making sudden turns in the hopes to lose the projectiles but he never noticed Artillery Barrage emerge from the roof of a house and launch a grenade at him! He jumped over the grenade and continued to run…but never new that it was a stun grenade with a large area of effect.

 _BOOM_

Tiny adhesive balls spread outward from the small explosion and attached themselves to Susanoo. They stabbed tiny little barbs into his skin and began to tighten his muscles to the point where he froze in place in sheer, excruciating agony. Unable to move, the heat seeking missiles slammed into Susanoo and the humanoid Teigu was engulfed in a massive, fiery explosion that sent him smashing through several buildings.

Susanoo could barely get up as he began to vomit blood. He looked down at his core and saw that it was cracked in some places. This was a clear sign that he was close to death and his healing abilities had now slowed down to a snail's pace. He fought through the pain and tried to get up, intent on finding his master and friends. The dust that was kicked up from the ruined buildings began to clear and he saw something that made him gasp.

"MASTER!" He shouted out as he scrambled to the prone form of Najenda! The leader of Night Raid was covered in bloody lacerations and ice burns, as well as lost her prosthetic arm. She was barely conscious. Susanoo carefully scooped her up in his arms and ran through the derelict city.

"Master, speak to me! Please!" Susanoo pleaded.

Najenda opened her only eye. "Su…sanoo…?"

"Try not to speak. Just hold on, I'm getting you and everyone else away from these demons as far away as possible."

"No…we have to stop them!"

"Master, we cannot win!"

"Then let me use your Trump Card again! You'll be able to-"

"NAJENDA! This battle is folly! We must retreat!" Susanoo shouted, stunning Najenda. Susanoo had never disobeyed her orders and this surprised her immensely. Then again, he did have a point: this was now a suicide mission.

 _ **SHHRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNK**_

A wall of ice instantly shot up in front of them, blocking off their retreat. #17 seemingly emerged from the ice in front of them as #6 and #16 came up from behind. The two of them were now surrounded and completely helpless.

" **THERE IS NO ESCAPE."**

" **THERE IS NO HOPE."**

" _ **THERE IS NO MERCY."**_

* * *

 _ **DAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKA**_

Within a decorative courtyard, a badly wounded Mine tightly depressed the trigger of her Teigu as hard as she could. Yellow colored blasts of spirit energy erupted from Pumpkin as she wildly sprayed the area where her adversaries were, creating a cloud of smoke while decimating numerous buildings. She continued to open fire upon the metal monstrosities; her calm and tactical personality had now been replaced by complete panic.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?" she screamed!

Her answer came in the form of several bladed chakrams bursting forth from the smoke, all of them aimed right at her! She held up Pumpkin while switching to its sword-like long barrel configuration to block them. It was successful in protecting her but the blades got a few nicks in along her leg, arms and waist. She cried out in pain as the chakrams turned around and came straight at her once again! Mine ducked to avoid them but then saw #12 barreling through the smoke with its mace held high above its head! Mine jumped out of the way as the mace slammed into the ground but then it charged at her with its tower shield held up.

She sidestepped out of the way just in time as #12 thundered straight through a wall. Mine began to charge Pumpkin; spirit energy beginning to surround the blade. She rushed inside through the hole and swung Pumpkin across its unprotected backside, the enhanced blade cleaving through the walls and the building itself like a hot knife through butter.

But #12 was unharmed! Mine's eyes widened in confusion and utter shock. Pumpkin's power became stronger the more emotion she felt and how much danger she was in but it still wasn't enough to cut through them! Why wasn't it working?!

Blood Knight spun around and swung its mace at Mine but she black flipped out of the way and headed outside where Razor Wind blocked off her escape. The four armed monster threw its chakrams at her and Mine swung Pumpkin again, this time a cohesive beam coming from the barrel as it sliced through the chakrams, #18 and the entire courtyard itself. But #18 and its weapons were undamaged! There wasn't even a scratch on them! The chakrams began to fly around Mine like a swarm of angry bees cutting apart her skin as she tried in vain to bat them away with Pumpkin.

Blood Knight came up from behind her and slammed its tower shield right into her, launching her straight out of the courtyard and into a deserted street. Mine groaned in pain as she creaked her eyes open. Every part of her body hurt so damn much. She was covered in steady bleeding cuts and the blow from earlier fractured a bone or two while her Teigu lay beside her. She looked up at the sun and then her surroundings.

' _This reminds me on when…'_ she thought as unpleasant memories began flooding into her head. Her situation and where she had landed in was just like when she was a little girl living in the Capital a very long time ago. Where she was ruthlessly beaten and tormented by bullies in the streets while bystanders didn't even bother to help her or even so much as give her a sideways glance.

' _Every time I was picked on because I was a half-blood foreigner I was left with wounds all over my body and looked up at the sky like this. That's when I understood that nobody would help me. Only I can help myself. And in the future, I can make up for all my misfortunes and change the world into a place where there is no irrational discrimination.'_ She reminisced.

A surge of furious determination surged through her body as she forced herself up and tightly grabbed Pumpkin, charging it to full power as it began to glow red hot.

' _There's no way in hell I'm going to die here!'_

Blood Knight and Razor Wind finally arrived at her location and could see her Teigu crackling with spirit energy and getting brighter by the second. They stood where they were, at the far end of the street, not even attempting to stop her.

" **IT DIDN'T WORK THE FIRST TIME. IT DIDN'T WORK THE SECOND TIME."**

" **WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IT WILL WORK A THIRD TIME?"**

"Don't underestimate Pumpkin, you metal freaks!" Mine snarled as she took aim, Pumpkin making a dull humming sound that increased it volume. They started to walk towards her at a slow pace while they were in her line of sight.

"BLAST THROUGH! _**CUT-DOWN SHOT!"**_

 _ **BAAAFWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMM**_

Mine fired Pumpkin's Trump card directly at the creatures and a massive beam of pure spirit energy, now colored blue, exploded from the barrel; engulfing #18 and #12, as well as half of Kyoroch! The bream disintegrated every building within its path and out into the desert beyond where the very sand was turned into glass.

"GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mine shouted as she continued to hold down the trigger, the beam beginning to widen and grow in size! Pumpkin began to glow hotter than ever as cracks appeared along the Teigu and her hands burned from the heat. But she didn't care; she wouldn't stop until she knew for sure that those things were dea-

A metal hand suddenly shot out from the beam and grabbed down upon the barrel, crushing it and majority of Pumpkin into pieces as Blood Knight and Razor Wind emerged forth from the beam _completely unscathed!_

As the beam disappeared, Mine's mouth fell open and gasped in sheer horror. #18 and #12 stood over her imposingly. The sniper shook like a leaf as she tightly kept a firm grip on what was left of Pumpkin while she stared up at the demonic creatures in utter terror.

" **TOLD YOU."**

 _THROCK_

Blood Knight slammed its mace right into Mine's side, snapping most of her ribs like a twig and dislocating her left arm! The force of the blow flung her into the air and Razor Wind threw two chakrams at her that struck her along the length of her back, leaving two scarlet incisions. Mine finally landed on the ground in unbearable plain as she crawled over to a nearby wall and slumped against it, leaving behind a trail of blood as she did.

She looked ahead and saw the creatures making their way towards her. Blood Knight's tower shield transformed into a 30mm cannon while Razor Wind stepped back to let its comrade deliver the killing blow. Tears began to stream down Mine's eyes as her face contorted into one of utter hopelessness. She couldn't beat them and now just like before…no one was coming to help her.

As #12 took aim at her, Mine closed her eyes as an image of all her smiling friends flashed through her mind. "Why are you all coming into my head? You're all just a bunch of misfits…" She sadly whispered to herself.

 _ **KAPOOOOOM**_

The round tore straight through the wall and the resulting explosion annihilated a good portion of Kyoroch! Mine slowly opened her eyes to see that she was still alive and that someone was carrying her bridal style. It was Tatsumi! He had managed to get her out of the way just in time!

"There's no way…I'm letting anyone die!" He huffed. Tatsumi looked worse for wear. He too was covered in cuts and his forehead was coated in blood as he breathed heavily, ready to collapse at any moment. Mine couldn't stop the tears from dribbling down her face. For the first time in her entire life, someone actually helped her and from certain death no less. The two of them turned their attention to the sound of their foes approaching footsteps just as they rounded the corner of a street.

"Time to go!" Tatsumi said he high-tailed it away from the creatures while still carrying Mine. As much as Mine wanted to protest his decision, (not because of embarrassment) he was right. They needed to retreat along with everyone else.

Blood Knight began to fire a volley of flechettes at them but Tatsumi was able to duck into an alley. Unfortunately he did get hit along his arm and leg. Tatsumi grunted in pain as the flechettes were painfully embedded into his skin.

"Tatsumi! You're hurt!"

"If we stop, we die!"

They exited the alleyway and ran towards the central area of Kyoroch that had a large fountain in the middle. Much like the city, it too had been demolished.

"Where are we going?!" Mine asked as she looked around for any of the creatures that were following them.

"We need to find the others! Once we do, we are getting the hell out of-"

 _SHUCK_

A spear came flying out of nowhere and impaled itself straight into Tatsumi's thigh! He cried out in pain as he and Mine tumbled across the ground. She turned over to Tatsumi who was clutching his rapidly bleeding thigh, the double ended spear still embed deep within. She scrambled over to help him only for the spear to suddenly withdraw itself from Tatsumi and then, as if guided by invisible hands, spun around in a circle and cut open her palm.

She reeled back as she held her bleeding hand and saw the spear fly back down the street where it its owner caught it out of the air. Yari spun its weapon in its hands before walking over to where mine and Tatsumi was, closely joined by Prism.

Mine went white with fear as crawled over to Tatsumi, who drew his sword. They heard more footsteps approaching and they turned to their left to see their previous opponents, #18 and #12, coming towards them. They two of them were now scared out of their minds as four of the unstoppable creatures began to slowly approach them.

 _SKRASH_

Something was thrown through a building near them and landed at their feet. To their surprise and subsequent horror, it was Leone, Akame and Sheele!

Leone was covered in deep cuts while her leg and arm had been broken, her animal ears and tail had been ripped off and her regeneration factor had stopped completely. Sheele was covered in numerous lacerations covering most of her body, her glasses were gone and her left cheek was torn open while the shears of Extase had been destroyed. Akame had dozens of bruises and cuts across her body, her right eye had swollen shut while her broken harm hung lifelessly from her body. Worst of all, half of Murasame had been snapped off!

 _SMAAAAASSSHHH_

Another building crumbled near them as three more figures tumbled before them, this time it was Bulat, Lubbock and Chelsea. Bulat covered in horrible wounds and Incursio had multiple cracks along the blade. He breathed deep, labored breaths as he struggled to get up. Lubbock and Chelsea looks worse for wear as the both of them were covered in burns, bruises and ruptured skin.

 _THOOOM_

Another one fell apart as the final two members of Night Raid were thrown towards their comrades. Susanoo had reverted back to his original form but looked like he had been through hell and back. Najenda was missing her prosthetic arm and eyepatch and was in unbelievable agony as she coughed up blood.

Every member was had been chewed up and spat straight back out. Both figuratively and _very_ literally.

The rest of the creatures eventually emerged from the ruins and began to slowly advance towards the brutalized forms of Night Raid. They all tried their hardest to flee but they were all in no condition to flee or fight back. They could only watch as the demonic killers inched ever so closer over to them.

 _(Big Hero Six-Baymax, Destroy Him)_

It soon began to dawn upon all of them that this was it. This was the end. Even though they knew the risks that came with being an assassin, they did not want to die like this. If they were to die, it would be sacrificing their lives to make the Empire a safer place. Not trying in vain to fight against creatures that were completely impervious to their attacks.

In the end, all of their struggles amounted to nothing. Night Raid couldn't stop them from destroying the Empire or everywhere else, they couldn't avenge all the innocents they had killed and they still didn't know what the hell these things were. As they prepared for their demise, they all had their regrets and last thoughts.

Tatsumi didn't think it would end like this. All he wanted to do was help his village. Now he was going to die without accomplishing anything of real value. He felt so utterly useless and he let everyone down…just like Sayo and Ieyasu.

Akame was fully prepared to face death due to her grueling upbringing as an assassin. But now she lay completely broken and defeated just like her friends. No one should ever have to die like this; she wasn't even able to liberate the Empire from Honest's stranglehold. If there was any regret she had in her whole life, it was not rescuing her sister sooner.

Leone was both frustrated and saddened. Everything she did was to help her neighborhood and all of the friends she had made there. Now it looked like she was unable to avenge them all. She had always prided herself on being the toughest, most uplifting member of Night Raid and a great source of morale for everyone but all of that mattered to nothing now. Her friends were going to die and there was nothing she could do.

Bulat had completely lost all vestiges of hope. If Incursio's evolved form was unable to destroy these things then what could? Just like with General Liver, he couldn't save him and now he couldn't save his friends either. He also felt like he had failed Tatsumi the most. He was a spitting image of himself and would make a great fighter like he was but now the poor boy was never going to get that chance.

Mine was now silently weeping, unable to stop the steady flow of tears. Her dreams, her ambitions, her friends…she was going to lose all of them. She looked to Tatsumi, the only person she was actually having feelings towards, and knew that she was never going to be able to tell him how she felt about him. It wasn't fair. Damn it all, it just wasn't fair!

Sheele felt the same way as Mine. Night Raid had become her family and a place where someone like her could belong to. But now she was going to lose all of them and she couldn't prevent any of it. She looked towards Tatsumi and sadly accepted that she wouldn't be able to hug him again.

Lubbock tried to crawl over to Najenda but it was no use. He was too weak from his earlier defeat to move. His biggest regret was never professing his affection towards her. He truly did love Najenda but he kept making those perverted advances on the other women. He felt so goddamn stupid. Why did he keep screwing around instead of just telling her?

Chelsea looked at the broken forms of Night Raid. An unbearable sense of heartbreaking sorrow flooded her body. Night Raid had become the closest people she known and enjoyed every moment being with them. Back then, she wasn't really a people person and felt like she could do things better on her own but all of then changed when she joined Night Raid. They were so much like her on a number of levels that she couldn't bear to lose them even though they were putting their very lives on the line. She wished her friends would've escaped long ago and she would stay behind to stall these things but fate had different plans for her. She cursed fate and her inability to protect her friends.

Susanoo struggled to get up but the damage he received to his core made it impossible. He looked to his master and knew that he had not only failed her, but everyone else in Night Raid. Once again, he was going to lose people who valued him as a friend and a human being, not a living weapon. The pain he felt was nothing compared to losing his most cherished comrades and master. He wondered…was there an afterlife for a humanoid Teigu?

Najenda mentally chewed herself out for her lack of foresight. It was a trap the entire time and she idiotically played right into their hands. She should've gone straight to the Revolutionary Army HQ and report the situation before acting on her own. She failed. She failed to save the Empire from corruption and its subsequent destruction, she failed her entire team and had failed to defeat these genocidal monsters. Now there was no way to stop these things from wiping out the Revolutionary Army and killing her friends. It was all her fault.

The creatures had now surrounded them in a semicircle formation as they began to aim their weapons at Night Raid. Some members closed their eyes and prepared for the inevitable while the rest stared them down in silent defiance, not giving them the satisfaction.

They locked on to their prey and prepared to unleash the full might of their weapons upon them-

 _ **BZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKK**_

A massive bolt of lightning shot out of a building behind Night Raid and split into six smaller ones and slammed into the monsters with so much force, it sent them flying!

 _ **SHWWWWWAAAAAAAAKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW**_

A storm of column sized icicles exploded out of the building and struck the other creatures that avoided the previous attack and sent them spiraling through the city as well!

 _ **SHOOM SHOOM SHOOM SHOOM SHOOM SHOOM**_

Numerous spires of ice shot out from the ground and began to surround the monsters as they began to get up.

 _ **RRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLL**_

They looked up to see a dark storm cloud instantly form over them and a gigantic lightning bolt struck the spires! The electricity began to link to the other spires until they all jolted the creatures in a massive electrical explosion that leveled most of Kyoroch!

 _ **SHHHAAAAAAAAAAAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM**_

Night Raid stared at the sight completely slack jawed until they began to hear footsteps behind them. They snapped their heads around to see two silhouettes through the smoke cloud of the ruined building. When the two figures finally came through the smoke, Night Raid's expressions were one of stunned silence while Tatsumi looked confused.

There, standing before them, were the battered, beaten and bloodied forms…

 _Of General Budo and General Esdeath._

To be continued…

* * *

 **BAM! How do ya like that!?**

 **I'll be doing one chapter of Gun Sonata and then I will come back to this.**

 **Don't forget to review but please don't flame.**


	13. Unexpected Help

**Chapter 13 on the house!**

 **Apologies if this took long.**

 **Review Time!**

 **SulliMike23: We'll find out soon enough…**

 **DB-19: Oh ye of little faith…**

 **Pyromania101: Had a great New Year and im still sticking with the canon pairings. Your idea sounds great but I have something special planned for her!**

 **Arkham Knight: Thanks for the review!**

 **Gemm1mt: Yes, I plan to do chapters just like that in the near future.**

 **Noob6: they did kinda team up in the manga once.**

 **Junior VB: And not a moment too soon!**

 **King of Fans: Let's hope they do just that!**

 **NRG: Thanks. I had a hard time finding the best track that captured that feeling and I think I nailed it.**

 **Thaqif: You could've warned me that it was a hentai, so no.**

 **Strike the Blood: Much appreciated!**

 **Trzn: Here ya go!**

 **Red John. Exactly. Read on and find out what happens next.**

 **Jfazend5,Guest #2, The Guyver and Godzilla: I get it, you guys are Sheele fans but try to keep the review section centered on the story for next time. Thank you.**

 **Colossalblackening: Bingo! I'm planning something major for Esdeath.**

 **MUTO TOHO: FINALLY someone agrees with me! He had an awful poker face! The Emporer was as dumb as a brick!**

 **Wayward Son: Read on for a surprise!**

 **Dark Avenger: I'll give those a listen and I'll see if I can use them. You offer some pretty good tracks. Najenda was desperate to find out what the hell was going on and had no idea the perpetrators were invincible metal monsters. Desperation can cause someone to not think straight.**

 **RaptorRapist: MEGATRON IS IRRELEVANT.**

 **Shadowlord: It's updated now!**

 **The Question: I will reveal that in future chapters.**

 **Writing Warrior: Not unless he can explain himself.**

 **Crime Fighter: Oooooh! That's a good one.**

 **Guest #1: WHAM!**

 **DeathlyDue: Thanks. It really means a lot to me.**

 **Orga: Don't worry, she gets better soon.**

 **Samurai Jack and Akame ga Kill belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

* * *

Chapter 13

Unexpected Help

KYOROCH

Night Raid stared in dumfounded shock at their rescuers. Never in a millions years did they think that two of the Empire's most powerful and monstrous Generals would save their lives. It was impossible yet they had just witnessed it happen before their eyes. Being the newest member of Night Raid, Tatsumi didn't share his friend's looks of disbelief and analyzed the two imposing figures before him.

The first was a woman wearing high heels and an Imperial army uniform standing around the same height as Najenda and was a striking vision of beauty: silky blue hair, steely yet beautiful eyes, a slender body and porcelain colored skin gave her a stunningly gorgeous appearance. But Tatsumi could tell that behind her alluring figure lay a hardened warrior with years of combat experience. There was no doubt that this woman was the infamous General Esdeath his friends had talked about so much.

But she too had fought a hopeless battle against the metal monstrosities. Her uniform was shredded to pieces, bandages were wrapped around her wounds with blood seeping through them and she looked ready to fall over at any second. But the one thing that caught Tatsumi's eye was the massive, bloodied slash mark running from her left shoulder, through the tattoo on her chest and snaked down to her waist. He took note that her tattoo was the same as the brandings on the bodies of the Imperial soldiers they had found in the northern territories a few days earlier.

The second one was a literal _giant._ He towered over the others and sported rippling muscles that put Bulat's to shame. He wore a black shirt and white pants while multiple plates of grey colored armor covered his chest, feet, shoulders and other parts of his body. He had a stony demeanor as well as spiky blond hair with two tufts peaking outwards, making it look like he had antenna. One noticeable feature was the pair of golden colored gauntlets he wore with piston like attachments. Judging by those numerous bolts of lightning from earlier, those gauntlets had to be the Teigu known as Adramelech that Susanoo mentioned days ago. Could this man be Budo, the General second only to Esdeath?

Like Esdeath, he too looked like he had been through a wringer. His armor was cracked in several areas, his Teigu had been heavily damaged, bruises decorated his face, his legs were almost completely encased in bloody bandages and looked just as fatigued as Esdeath. It was shocking to see two people who wielded Teigus that could decimate entire armies be reduced to barely standing wrecks.

"Wow…" Leone croaked, still in pain. "Those things must've hit my head really, _really_ hard."

Najenda was just as shocked and confused as everyone else. Why would Esdeath and Budo of all people save their lives? There had to be some kind of ulterior motive here. Nothing added up. She turned to Esdeath and the two briefly locked gazes before Esdeath instantly looked the other way. Najenda blinked in bewilderment. She was fully expecting Esdeath to gleefully chew her out for her failure and gloat about how superior she was. To just look away was not like Esdeath at all. But Najenda noticed something before Esdeath avoided her gaze. For the briefest moment…she could've sworn she saw what looked like _shame_ on her face.

Ignoring Esdeath for the moment, she looked up at Budo who was now looking down at her. "So…come here to finish the job?" She said spitefully.

"On the contrary, it's the exact opposite." He replied as he held out his hand. "Come with us if you want to live." Everyone, save for Tatsumi, stared wide eyed at the General with hung open mouths.

"Come with _you_?" Akame repeated, immediately suspicious as she gripped her broken arm. "And how will _that_ help us live?" Everybody else shared Akame's feelings of distrust. These two couldn't be trusted, especially Esdeath.

"G…..guh….guysh….!" Sheele gasped in horror, her torn open cheek impeding her speech. Everyone saw that she was pointing a shaking finger to the enormous smoke cloud, that had been created by Budo and Esdeath's combined attacks, a considerable distance away from.

Night Raid went white with fear.

The Generals visibly tensed up, their teeth clenched in frustration.

 _(Theme of the T-1000)_

They were getting back up. Those _things_ were getting back up.

From within the smoke, they could see the silhouettes of the creatures stand up and every one of their blood-red eyes focus directly upon them. All of Night Raid felt like they were trapped in a nightmare. These monsters just took the combined might of the Empire's strongest Generals and they were still alive and unscathed.

"Aw no,no,no,no,no NO! THIS CANT BE REAL, MAN! WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE THINGS?! THIS AIN'T POSSIBLE!" Lubbock panicked.

"I had a feeling that wouldn't stun them for long." Esdeath said dryly. Channeling a mist of ice in her right hand, she thrusted her fist into the ground and the mist seeped into the earth. The creatures emerged from the smoke and immediately began rushing over to their targets-

 _ **THRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

A massive wall of thick ice, almost as tall as the walls that surrounded the Empire, encircled the creatures! Esdeath also had ice close off the top to prevent the ones that could fly from escaping and another layer beneath them to prevent the one that could burrow through the earth from tunneling an exit. Esdeath collapsed to her hands and knees while taking labored breaths. "That's it…that's all…..I can do for now…but it won't hold them…"

Budo nodded and turned to the ruined building behind him. "Gather the survivors!" He shouted. From out of the hole in the building, four men (one in armor) and a small dog emerged from the building and hurried towards Night Raid. One thing that the three men had in common was that they were wall covered in wounds and bloody bandages just like Esdeath and Budo. All of them clear signs that they had fought against the monsters and lost. _Horribly._

The first man was around the same height and had the same muscular build as Budo but was shirtless and wore a disturbing looking gas mask. His mask and pants were torn in several places and wore a large gasoline tank on his back with a skull-like nozzle attachment, indicating that it was some kind of flamethrower. He scooped up Lubbock, Mine, Sheele and Akame and carried them underneath his arms.

The second one was a young man with fair blonde hair and golden eyes. His clothing consisted of torn and burnt white robes worn over black shirt and pants with a brown belt. He also had a feather pin behind his ear but like his clothes, that was burnt too. But one the most astounding feature this young man bared was the bird-like wings that emerged from his back! Upon closer inspection however, the wings emanated from the pair of intricately designed discs that floated behind his back. He picked up Leone in a bridal carry.

The third wore black, full body armor that was cracked, caved in and broken in almost every area. A defensive film hovered behind him that extended to his shoulders but it had been shattered like glass. One half of his helmet had been cracked open, revealing the wearer's left eye (which was a dark blue in color) and a tuft of his black hair. Tatsumi and Night Raid instantly took note that the armor was almost identical to Incursio's armored form! He went over to Susanoo and carefully stood him up while slinging the humanoid Teigu's arm over his shoulder.

The last one was an aged man in his 40's with spiky gray hair with a long ponytail and a pointed mustache that curved upwards. He wore damaged clothing that was the same as Esdeath's Three Beasts, Daidara and Nyau, meaning that he was most likely the third and last Beast. He went up to Bulat and the former Imperial solder's moth fell open in shock as he recognized him.

"G-general Liver?!" Bulat gasped in astonishment.

"Bulat." Liver replied with a nod as he helped up his longtime friend.

The tiny dog that accompanied the men trotted up to Tatsumi and Chelsea on its abnormally stubby legs. The two of them noticed that something about this dog was…off. It looked more like walking stuffed animal than and actual dog. Before the two could react, the dog suddenly grew in height and its tiny arms were now hideously muscled and human-like while its head was disproportionally huge with the rest of its grotesque body, a line of drool hanging from its toothy mouth!

" _Kyuuuuuuuuuuuu…"_ The dog slurred, its blank eyes frighteningly reminiscent of a shark.

"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Tatsumi and Chelsea shrieked as the dog monster grabbed them and carried the pair in its meaty, cow-sized hands.

Budo went over and helped Najenda up as he looked over to the prison of ice. He could hear the sounds of drilling, punching and muffled explosions coming from within. Esdeath was right; it wouldn't hold for long.

"Back to the ruins! MOVE!" Budo commanded and he carried Najenda in his arms. With a nod, the four men and the dog monster bolted through the streets as they carried Night Raid, with Budo and Esdeath up front.

"Wait! The horses-"Najenda began before she was cut off by Budo.

"There's no time!" He yelled.

They ran through the streets until they escaped into the open desert, ignoring the blistering heat of the sun shining down upon them. They continued to run as fast as their legs could carry them and they weren't going to stop for _anything._ Esdeath looked behind her to see that that everyone was leaving their footprints in the sand. If the creatures did escape, they would have a way to track them.

"Run! Cover our tracks!" She ordered to the one with wings. Nodding, Run looked to Leone who he still carried.

"Hang on." He said to her as he flew upward and rapidly flapped his wings towards the direction of the footprints so gusts of wind would blow the sand over them. The group continued to run for well over and hour while Run kept covering their trail. They came upon a sand dune and trudged upward until they got to the top and saw the ruins of some long lost temple partially buried in the sand a few feet away. They slid down the dune and headed towards the ruins, which soon turned out to big much larger up close than Night Raid thought.

After running through the winding columns submerged in the sand, they finally came upon a large courtyard with numerous ancient buildings in the background that had sunk into the desert. Two girls were present in the courtyard with one of them getting up and ran up to them.

She was a young girl with auburn-colored hair like Chelsea tied up in a ponytail. She was dressed in a black and white Imperial military uniform with upper body armor, grey colored boots and white stockings. The most startling thing about her was that _she had no arms._ They were gone! The only things in place of her limbs were bandages wrapped around where they used to be!

"Guys! You found survivors?" She inquired. The dog monster set Tatsumi and Chelsea down as it transformed back to its smaller form and trotted up to the girl's legs. "Are they hurt?"

"Badly." Liver replied. "Seryu, get what's left our medical supplies on the double."

"Right-" Seryu said before she stopped herself and noticed Sheele, Bulat, Akame and Najenda. She instantly recognized who they were. "You…I've seen you in the wanted posters….you..." He face started to visibly contort into rage and insanity as she turned to the man in armor.

"YOU HELPED NIGHT RAID?!" She raged.

The man in armor sighed. "We-"

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE IS WRONG WITH YOU, WAVE?! THESE VILLIANS ARE EVIL!"

"SERYU! We don't have time for this! Get first aid, now!" Wave shouted.

Biting her lip in frustration to the point where she drew blood, Seryu begrudgingly ran over to where the other girl was and grabbed one of the backpacks that were near her with her teeth. Akame noticed the other girl was sitting in a fetal position with her head buried in her arms. There was something about this girl that made her uneasy.

For one thing, she looked almost similar to herself. Her attire consisted of a black and red sailor uniform with a red side skirt, red gauntlets and her shoes and stockings were both colored black. Her hair was tied up in a twin tail style that made Akame's eyes widen. She knew of only one person who had that kind of hair style. The girl looked up and her eyes met with Akame's. A small gasp escaped Akame's lips.

It was her sister. Kurome.

 _She was alive!_

Though she didn't let it show, Akame was immensely relived and overjoyed that her sister survived. But then it was replaced by sympathy when she saw just how terrible Kurome looked. She was as white as a sheet, shook like a leaf and her eyes were devoid of any life: hollow, empty and broken. It was evident to Akame that a combination of the Empire's destruction, the loss of Yatsufusa, the trauma from fighting the metal creatures and the resulting withdrawal from her drug laced cookies had taken a heavy toll on Kurome's body and mind.

 _Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmbbbbbbbbbbblllll_

A low rumbling sound caught everyone attention as they looked over to the sand dune.

Tatsumi went pale. "Oh no…"

* * *

KYOROCH

 _ **SKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAKRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSHHHHHHH**_

The entire front portion of the ice prison exploded outward, sending shards of thick ice scattering across the ground. The invincible creatures sauntered out of the prison one by one and began to scan the area. So far there were no signs of life at all in the city but they found multiple footprints imprinted in the dirt, leading out into the desert. They all followed the footprints out to the desert where the trail seemed to end. Walking a bit more into the literal ocean of barren sand, they stopped to scan the area again for more footprints but could find none. It was like their targets spontaneously disappeared.

But they had to have fled somewhere. Concluding that they must've concealed their trail, Army Slayer rotated his head to the others behind him and pointed upwards. Scorched Earth, Tengu and Singularity flew up into the air stopped at a fixed height. There wasn't a cloud in the sky which made it easier for them to scan the landscape. The 3 of them were searching for any settlement or place where their targets could've hid and after several seconds, they found what they were looking for. A series of buried ruins several miles from Kyoroch looked like the most ideal place for their targets to hide. They began to run the numbers in their internal processors.

 _PROBABILITY….82.4%_

They flew back down to the others and pointed north. The creatures then began to literally fold themselves back into their basket disguises, their limbs neatly compacting into their bodies. With the transformation complete they began to roll across the desert like a pack of tumbleweeds towards the ruins.

Meanwhile, on a sand dune at the opposite end of Kyoroch, the mysterious figure watched the rolling creatures disappear into the distance through his binoculars. Setting them down, he disappeared behind the dune and a bright flash of light followed afterwards, leaving only the howling wind.

To be continued…

* * *

 **I know this chapter was short but I felt like it was necessary, pacing wise.**

 **I enjoyed making this chapter because I wanted to showcase the Jaegers finally arriving! I also liked adding in the theme for the T-1000 because there is no better track that captures emotionless, robotic horror. If you think about it, the original episode felt like an homage to Terminator.**

 **Stay tuned for the next chapter!**

 **Don't forget to review but please don't flame.**


	14. From Enemies to Allies

**Here's chapter 14! Hope the wait was worth it!**

 **It's mostly character development but it's important to the story. I know a lot of you feel bad for Sheele but I promise you, she'll get better in later chapters.**

 **Review time!**

 **Sullimike23: Read on and find out!**

 **Gemm1mt: That won't happen; they've barely gotten to know each other yet. I've already answered your other review in the PM.**

 **Noob6: Never gets old!**

 **Musizlover2008: Well…you're half right.**

 **Arkham Knight: Thanks. My favorite part about this story was how much I made the Ultrabots so virtually unstoppable that the cast no other choice but to join forces.**

 **Imperial warlord: Thanks!**

 **Junior VB: But can she be cured in time?**

 **Drew Luczynski: Bingo!**

 **Guest #1: Well, there's going to be more to that than you think. I'm planning on addressing the last part near the end of the story.**

 **Ggg222: LMAO! We could also have Chris Tucker saying, "DAAAAAAAAAAMN!"**

 **Guest #2: I'm a slow updater. Get used to it.**

 **Jfazende5: Yup! Read on and see!**

 **Orga: I know, I know but she'll recover. Same old Seryu but that all stops in this chapter…**

 **The Guyver: Thank you for the notification and I have already made the correction.**

 **Red John: It won't last for the whole story so don't fret.**

 **King of Fans: You'll find out how everyone goes on from here!**

 **Idea Guy: Cool idea but I'm sticking with the DOOM element. It will be YEARS before I tackle this story.**

 **Frankly-Frank and MUTO TOHO: Sorry to say that Jack won't be in this story but there will be Aku in part 4 of my Akame ga Kill x Samurai Jack series!**

 **Akame ga Kill and Samurai Jack belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

* * *

Chapter 14

From Enemies to Allies

EASTERN DESERTS-RUINS

 _(Metroid Prime 2: Echoes-Dark Samus Approaching)_

The ruins stood as a testament to a lost age in the east's history. A relic of a forgotten civilization doomed to be slowly consumed by the sands of the seemingly unending desert. The serene silence was broken when nineteen baskets rolled through the ruins until they stopped in the central courtyard. They began to unfold themselves until they all formed the imposing, horrifying forms of the unstoppable metal creatures. Their crimson-colored eyes scanned the immediate area for anything their sensors could detect.

Nothing. No indications that Night Raid, the Generals or The Jaegers had been here. But they weren't the type to just give up so easily. Army Slayer turned to the others.

" **SEARCH THE AREA."**

They began to spread out and investigate ruins like the methodical machines they were. They scoured the ruins, leaving no stone unturned as they hunted their prey. Traversing the winding and empty temples of the lost city, the whole place seemed to be vacant of any life. Some of them began to break though the stone structures hoping to find their targets inside, only to find that they were empty. Auger drilled underground and through the temples to find them but came up empty handed. After 2 hours of searching, they all gathered at the central courtyard.

" **THEY ARE NOT HERE. SHOULD WE EXPAND OUR SEARCH?"**

" **NEGATIVE. WE WILL FIND THEM ANOTHER TIME."**

With that, the machines transformed back into baskets and rolled out of the ruins, into the desert and over a dune, disappearing out of sight. The ruins remained completely silent and unoccupied… or so one would think. On the largest temple, a slab of stone slowly moved a little bit over to the right leaving a small opening. Someone slowly and carefully peered out of it, scanning the surroundings.

"I think they're gone…"

"Are you sure? Like, absolutely 100% sure?"

"No way to know for certain…"

"Let me try something. Koro! Go check it out."

Koro, the dog monster that saved Tatsumi and Chelsea, squeezed out of the crevasse and looked around for any sign of the creatures. The area seemed clear but just to be extra sure; he sniffed around to pick up the stench of death they seemed to emanate. He picked up nothing which meant that they were in the clear. He trotted over back to the crevasse. "Kyu Kyu Kyuuuuuuuuu!" He waved.

"Good boy, Koro!"

The stone slab was moved out of the way and everyone fell out of it into a pile. When they heard the rumbling sounds from before, they all knew that the creatures had escaped their frozen confine and began to frantically search for a place to hide. As luck would have it, they discovered a hole behind a slab of loose stone on one of the old temples that they could hide in. It was a tight fit but they didn't have a whole lot of options. They hid in that cramped, steaming hot spider hole for 2 hours, praying that the creatures wouldn't find them.

But as luck would have it, they didn't find them and they had all escaped death by the skin of their teeth. As they lay on the ground, gasping for air, Wave's armor retracted back into a black short sword. Wave had dark hair and blue eyes while his attired consisted of a dark blue jacket, a white and blue t-shirt, grey jeans with black boots and a red scarf with an anchor emblazoned on it. Just like his comrades, his clothes were a mess and looked just as haggard as them.

"Oh my God…I thought they were going to find us for certain." He breathed. "I think we got some kinda angel watching over us."

"I second that notion." Chelsea agreed.

They all went back to the courtyard and split up into their respective groups. The Jaegers and Generals sat themselves down on one side of the courtyard to catch their breaths while Night Raid sat at the other end attending to their wounds. Mine was looking over Sheele's torn cheek while trying her hardest not to gag at her wound. A shadow fell over them and she whirled around to see the gas mask wearing giant looming over them.

The two of them instantly went for their Teigus, uncaring that they were broken and effectively useless now. To their surprise, the man handed them several backpacks filled with much-needed medical supplies.

"Here. You'll need these as much as we do." He spoke in a polite and kind voice that did not match his chilling appearance in the slightest. Giving him a cautious look, Mine swiped the backpacks away from him and began to distribute it to her friends. Night Raid thoroughly patched themselves up as much as they could; luckily for them they were given just enough to treat their injuries.

For the next 25 minutes, they all sat in complete silence as the sun began to set slowly. There was a common feeling that hovered over the two groups as they absentmindedly stared at the ground.

Complete, utter defeat.

Whether it was defending the Empire or liberating the Empire, they failed. Foiled by nineteen unstoppable monsters that were impervious to all of their attacks and nearly killed them. Was it sheer luck or fate that they cheated death? After several more minutes, the groups began to look at one another with weary stares. It was almost surreal that two mortal enemies had banded together but could they really earn each other's trust? They continued to stare at one another, trying to read their thoughts.

Finally, Leone had the guts to finally break the silence. "So…you guys got your asses kicked too?"

Budo's expression soured. "As crude as that sounds, I'm not afraid to admit that we did."

"I did not think that you would all go out of your way to save us." Akame commented, her arm now in a makeshift sling.

"Given our current situation, it was the most prudent decision." Run replied.

"We should've left you all there to die." Seryu spat venomously. "All of this is _your_ fault!"

" _Our_ fault?! How is _any_ of this our fault?!" Mine barked, immediately becoming hostile. Her arm was in a sling as well.

"You're all behind this!" Seryu snarled at Night Raid. If she still had her arms, she would most likely be pointing an accusatory finger at them. "You probably created those demons to destroy everything the Empire stood for!"

"You _seriously_ think the Revolutionary Army has the resources to build something like them?" Chelsea countered.

"And what exactly has the Empire stood for?" Susanoo added. "Corruption? Abuse of power? Economic stagnation? Murder of the poor and innocent?"

"That's a lie!" Wave shouted. "We've been upholding the Empire's values and ensure that the public prospers!"

"Prosper?!" Tatsumi incredulously exclaimed. "You call turning a blind eye to every atrocity the Prime Minister has committed prospering?! The people have been suffering under his rule for years!"

"LIAR!" Seryu shrilled. "He was a saint who cared for the people just like the Emporer!"

"Saint my ass!" Leone yelled as she marched over to her. "That fat f***'s been making everybody's lives a living hell and you guys are no better!"

"You're wrong! We've been helping people!" Wave protested.

"That's pretty funny coming from someone whose commander is a mass murdering psychopath!" Mine yelled as she pointed at Esdeath. The General paid her no heed as she continued to look away from everyone as she sat on a collapsed column.

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO MY SUPERIOR LIKE THAT!" Seryu screamed into Mine's face!

"BACK THE F*** OFF!" Mine snarled as she pushed Seryu, causing Koro to bark angrily at her.

"Hey, knock it off!" Wave shouted as he marched towards her, only to be blocked off by Tatsumi.

"Leave her alone!" he shouted at him.

"Damn it, will you all calm down?!" Najenda exasperated as she stepped in to stop them.

"I'm ordering you to stand down, _now_!" Budo ordered his subordinates.

But at this point there was no way to calm everyone down. Leone, Tatsumi, Mine, Seryu, Koro and Wave were now at each other's throats as they angrily shouted at each other, ready to fight at the drop of a hat. Run, Liver, Budo, Najenda, Bulat, Lubbock and Chelsea tried their best to break up the fight but it had already spun out of control. Esdeath, Kurome, Akame, Susanoo and Sheele stayed out of it. Mine was ready to throw the first punch when-

" _ **STOP IT!"**_ The man wearing the gas mask yelled. Everyone turned to him to see him shaking as distress was visible through his mask; tears were beginning to leak out of the cross-shaped eyeholes. "EVERYONE JUST STOP IT, PLEASE! DON'T YOU ALL GET IT?! THIS IS WHAT THOSE _MONSTERS_ WANT! THEY WANT US TO PIT OURSELVES AGAINST EACH OTHER SO THEY CAN KILL US EASIER!" He desperately sobbed.

This outburst was enough for everyone to stop auguring as Wave walked over to his friend with a look of concern. "Bols…"

Bols sat down on the ground as he sobbed into his hands. "Stop it….please…." He cried. Everyone looked at the crying shell of a man and they all realized that arguing really wasn't going to get them anywhere. In fact, they were all feeling the same as Bols: they were scared. Scared of those creatures coming back, scared of how powerful they were, scared of _dying by their cold, metal hands._

"He's right." Bulat spoke. "This isn't about who's evil or not here. The _real_ evil is out there and they are _very_ powerful. If we're going to find a way to stop them and survive, we need to band together and cooperate with each other."

Night Raid and The Jaegers looked at Bulat with incredulity before looking at one another. Mortal enemies working together? The very notion of that idea was both improbable and crazy yet… crazy enough to work.

"I agree with him" Run said. "This is no time for petty squabbles."

Akame looked at her sister who went back to her fetal position. If there was a chance that she could sway Kurome to her cause, then there might be a possibility that she could help her free her from the drugs that had been slowly poisoning her. "I'm in agreement as well." Akame nodded. The others began to nod in agreement, seeing that this was the best course of action if they wanted to find a way to stop these things.

"I'm not." Seryu grunted. "While I admit that the demons who destroyed our beloved Empire are the personification of evil itself, I will never work alongside villains like you!"

"I have to agree with Seryu." Wave said as he shook his head. "I mean, you guys are assassins! How am I supposed to trust someone who could stab me in the back?"

"Well, you saved our lives and we haven't done anything to harm you yet so that amounts to some level of trust, right?" Chelsea knowingly asked him.

Wave looked pensive. "I suppose…"

"Don't listen to a word they say, Wave" Seryu warned as she gave Night Raid a nasty look. "These villains will feed you nothing but falsehoods and slanderous lies!"

"Here we go again…" Mine sighed in annoyance as she rubbed her temples.

"You might as well admit that you're evil!" Seryu snapped. "All of you are guilty!"

"Let me ask you two something." Lubbock began. "When you're walking around in the Capital and you see all the poor people, the miserable citizens and the public executions, what was going through your heads? What were your thoughts?" Despite being known as something of a lecher and a goofball, there were times when Lubbock could be shockingly intelligent and mindful of certain people. He was trying to get into Wave and Seryu's heads and make them see that the Empire was ruthlessly corrupt.

"Obviously those were heinous criminals and murderers who committed ungodly crimes towards our beloved Empire and were punished accordingly." Seryu answered proudly.

"Exactly! And the people are dismal because they always have to worry about you coming for them in the night and the Emperor was fully committed to giving aid to the poor once the war was over." Wave said.

Lubbock shook his head in pity. "Completely hopeless…" He muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Wave demanded.

"Those who were executed were people who spoke out against the Empire's corruption and they were killed as a reminder of what happens to those who oppose them." Akame lectured. "And the Emperor is only a figurehead. Honest is the _true_ ruler of the Empire and the populace are in constant fear of _him_ , not us. He will _never_ lift a finger for the poor."

"Honest uses you as tools and clouds your minds with false promises. He cares nothing about you or the people he hurts." Susanoo finished. Wave blinked in confusion. None of this was adding up-

"LIARS!" Seryu shrieked. "My brave master Ogre warned me about people like you so don't think for a second you can fool me!"

Tatsumi's eyes widened when he heard that. He didn't think he would hear that name again but how did this girl know him? "Ogre? The Imperial Police captain?"

"The one and the same!" She said. "He trained me and taught me everything there is to know about justice!"

Tatsumi lowered his head, his hair shadowing his eyes.

"He was a proud, caring man who dedicated his life to serving justice and protecting the Empire from those who would taint its glorious history." She reminisced, unaware that Night Raid was giving her incredulous looks as they secretly knew the type of man Ogre was. Tatsumi's hands began to ball up into fists.

"I still mourn his tragic death to this day. Murdered in the line of duty! The Empire may be destroyed but I will not rest till those demons are destroyed and I find who killed my mast-"

"It was me." Tatsumi suddenly said without a hint of emotion in his voice. Night Raid looked at him with shocked expressions. What was he doing?! Seryu looked at him with shock. "I was the one who killed Ogre."

"You…." Seryu started as her features started to become savage and feral while Koro started to grow razor sharp teeth that looked like a myriad of kitchen knives. "YOU-"

"But you want to know _why_ I killed him?" Tatsumi glowered as he marched up to her, now clearly angry and ignoring the snarling dog beast. "You want to know _why_ he had to die? It's because he had been taking bribes from a corrupt oil merchant and pinning his crimes on _innocent civilians!_ And we didn't decide to kill him on a whim or just because we felt like it! It's because the fiancée of one of his victims paid and begged us to do it and that was after she sold her body to get the money and caught several _venereal diseases!_ "

Seryu was stunned silent at his outburst but still disbelieving.

Tatsumi then turned his attention to Wave before Seryu could say anything else.

"And you wanna know something else!? I came to the Empire to join the Imperial police and make some money for my village! But what did I find out!? Two of my best friends were tortured to death by a family of sadists pretending to be good samaritans! All my friends ever wanted was to help their village and now they're dead!" Tatsumi furiously raged. "YOUR EMPIRE IS EVIL! _NOT US!"_

Wave was rendered completely speechless. He couldn't formulate a single word. His mind tried its hardest to wrap around on what he was being told but struggled immensely. There was so much he didn't know about the Empire when he joined and during his time as a Jaeger, he began to see some cracks in its otherwise beautiful exterior but with everything going on, he had no idea who to believe at this point.

"It can't….it's not….you're lying!" Seryu reasoned, shaking as his words began to slowly sink in.

"What he's saying…not all of it can be true….right?" Wave asked his comrades as he and Seryu turned to them.

Run, Bols, Liver and Budo looked at the ground with looks of shame and resignation. They couldn't even bear to look at Wave or Seryu because they secretly knew that Night Raid was right. Esdeath continued to look away from them all.

"G-guys…?" Wave pressed, concerned as to why they looking so apathetic. It was troubling to see his two best friends and his superiors try their hardest to avoid his gaze.

"I-i-its all a lie…right? They're all lying. T-the Empire isn't c-c-corrupt at all! Ogre w-w-was a dedicated o-officer! R-r-right….?" Seryu stammered. This was beginning to scare her. _A lot._ She looked up at General Budo to meet his hard, unflinching eyes. He gave her a look that told her, "You know it to be true. You can't deny it any longer."

Seryu started to hyperventilate. Tears formed in her eyes. Her legs felt weak. Everything she had dedicated her entire life to was beginning to shatter like glass right in front of her. She looked to Esdeath who still had her head turned the other way. Seryu slowly walked over to her as her heart thudded against her chest.

"It's not true…tell me it's not true!" She pleaded. Esdeath continued to look away from her, her arms folded.

"….It's true. Everything they've said. It's the truth." She spoke.

Seryu's heart cracked in two. She stumbled away from Esdeath and fell flat on her rear. "No….no...no.…no…no…." She quietly cried, tears of unbearable heartbreak flowing down her cheeks. Koro was at her side in a heartbeat while whimpering. Wave stood as still as a statue, completely aghast at what he had heard. Was it true? Were they really the bad guys all along?

Kurome tightened her grip on herself as she buried her head into her arms.

Night Raid regarded them with sympathy. Anger had been replaced by pity as they saw the two members of the Jaegers in a different light: not blind followers, but poor souls who had been led astray by the Empire's lies.

Najenda, however, looked at Esdeath with confusion and suspicion. Why was she acting so distant? No boasting, no mocking, no snide remarks, no strong vs weak ramblings, _nothing._

What the hell was going on with her?

* * *

RUINS-7 HOURS LATER

 _(Lonesome Campfires-Graham Preskett )_

Nightfall had finally come to the eastern territories. A full moon shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the desert with a pale glow. But it also brought along its freezing winds as the temperature dropped. Lucky for the group, they gathered wood from the trees out in the desert to make a makeshift campfire with Bols providing fire from his Teigu. They all sat around the campfire together since hostilities between them were now virtually nonexistent. The only ones who did not join the group were Kurome and Esdeath.

Kurome sat in a fetal position in another part of the ruins while Esdeath stood on a sand dune far away from them. Whether she wanted to be alone or if she was keeping an eye out for the creatures was anybody's guess.

Everyone took this time to start getting to know one another. Night Raid had learned about the Jaegers rather intriguing Teigus; Thousand-Mile Flight: Mastema, Purgatory's Invitation: Rubicante, Magical Beast Transformation: Hekatonkherires and Carnage Incarnate: Grand Chariot.

The Jeagers, Wave and Seryu specifically, had learned about the shocking truth about the Empire they served. Needless to say, the two of them did not handle the news well at all.

"Oh god…." Wave breathed. "All this time…we were on the wrong side….you were the ones doing good while we remained completely oblivious! To think that the nobles were doing these horrible things to those poor people and getting away with it…oh God!" Wave buried his face into his hands. "I can never go back to my village! I can't show my face there ever again!"

"Calm down, Wave. You didn't know." Run said, consoling his friend.

"You performed your duties admirably; despite not knowing what went on behind the scenes. I couldn't have asked for a better police force." Budo added

"But just so you know, even though we take out the real bad guys what we're doing counts as murder. We ain't exactly good guys but we're certainly not bad guys either." Lubbock pointed out.

"Justice is dead…..there's no more justice anymore…." Seryu sobbed. Koro whimpered pathetically as he scooted up close to his master.

Mine sighed. "Justice isn't dead, Seryu. It's just sorta been sidelined. If Honest was never in power then you'd know what _real_ justice is. But then Ogre got into your head and that's when everything you believed in went to hell."

"The whorld….ish'nt blhack….and white….itsh…ghray…" Sheele rasped. Despite Lubbock using the last of Cross Tail to stich up the hole in her cheek, it still hurt a lot to speak and the bandages covering her face didn't help her speech either. Seryu sniffled; her urge to hug Koro as hard as she could only painfully reminded her that she had no arms.

Wave swallowed. "I just wanted to make my family proud. Live up to the man who trained me…I didn't mean to join a corrupt government!"

That sentence seemed to garner Tatsumi's interest. "You said before about your village, right?"

"Yeah, way out on the western edge of the Empire." Wave explained. "A small costal town. I lived there with my mom and dad since I was born. I learned how to fight from an Imperial Navy captain that visited there from time to time. He became my mentor and the next thing you know, I'm enlisted in the Imperial Navy. A couple weeks later, I' got summoned to the Capital to join a police force and that's where I got Grand Chariot, as well as met my friends."

"Huh. You know, your story almost sounds similar to mine. I come from a village up to the north and a retired soldier taught me how to fight too and even gave me his sword. Afterwards when I came to the Capital, I joined up with Night Raid." Tatsumi said se he began to smile. "It's pretty cool to know that we're so much alike."

"Heh. Yeah." Wave admitted with a smile as he scratched the back of his head.

"Sure you guys aren't brothers separated at birth?" Leone joked, having found her humor back. Tatsumi and Wave chuckled.

"One thing I'm kinda interested in is how much your Teigu looks like Incursio." Chelsea pointed out.

"I'm actually kinda wondering about that myself. I saw the entry a long time ago in a Teigu encyclopedia and the resemblance was almost uncanny." Wave said.

"Honestly, I thought Incursio was the only armor-type Teigu out there." Bulat shrugged.

"I believe I can answer that." Liver spoke, garnering everyone's attention. "Grand Chariot was created after Incursio but it was meant to be sort of an upgrade when the side effects of Incursio become more and more apparent."

"Side effects?" Najenda repeated as Night Raid looked at Bulat who looked incredibly guilty.

"So you didn't tell them." Liver surmised, not getting an answer from Bulat afterwards. He then began to explain what he meant to Night Raid. "The main problem with Incursio is that some aspect of the Danger Beast used to create it, Tyrant, still lives within. Whenever the user is pushed to the very limit, the Teigu 'evolves' so to speak. The user is granted increased strength and agility than before and Incursio is notably stronger. However, what's left of Tyrant grows stronger. If Incursio kept evolving then it would only be a matter of time before Tyrant would take over the user, essentially resurrecting itself."

Silence reigned amongst the group. Night Raid was _horrified._ To think that Incursio was _this_ dangerous and Bulat was using it on an almost daily basis when they had missions gave them a newfound concern for their friend. Akame blinked in shock. "Bulat….why didn't you-"

"We were in the middle of a war. The liberation of the Empire was more important than my life and I was fully prepared to lay down my life to lead this country to a better future. And if it meant letting a Danger Beast take over my body, then so be it…I just didn't want to make you all worry." Bulat solemnly told his friends.

Night Raid was about to voice their objections when they realized that they had the exact same convictions that Bulat had. They were assassins who were ready to give up their lives to free this country from Honest's stranglehold. Of course, all of that changed when the creatures wiped the Capital right off the map.

Wave seemingly had a newfound respect for this man, which was unsurprising since he had already heard about the legendary 100-Man Slayer. But after hearing about how dangerous Incursio was from Liver, could the same be said for his Teigu? "But what about Grand Chariot? Does that have the same problems?" He asked.

"No." Liver confirmed. "Grand Chariot is always in a state of equilibrium. It has no explosive power like Incursio has but there's no risk of evolution. That's why many have considered Grand Chariot to be an advanced version on Incursio."

Liver turned to Bulat and gave him a wistful smile. "But I'm sure Bulat can tell you it's nothing compared to the original, am I right?"

Bulat said nothing as he looked at the ground. "How….? How are you still alive?" He demanded.

Liver's smile disappeared as Bulat gave him a hard look. "I saw you get taken away to be executed. How are you still alive and why are you with _her_!?" Bulat demanded, obviously referring to Esdeath.

Liver sighed. "Because I owe her my life. When I was carried off, they hauled me into a cell where they prepared my execution. I sat there for hours sowing in my hatred against our own heinous kingdom. Then, Esdeath came to my cell to tell me the execution had been called off on her orders. She told me that I had potential and wanted to recruit me into her personal army. I never felt so relived and honored in my entire life."

Bulat was beginning to feel uncomfortable as was the rest of Night Raid.

"However…my admiration for her soon turned to _fear._ I saw firsthand what she was capable of. She was…worse than the government officials who ordered my death. Ruthless, merciless, unbeatable; it made me realize I had owed my life to a _demoness_. Her torture and extermination of entire villages will haunt me until the day I die."

Night Raid, The Jaegers and Budo were not expecting to hear that. "But if you knew just how evil she was, why didn't you try to escape?" Tatsumi asked.

"Because I was afraid she would find out and kill me. I wouldn't last _a second_ against her. All I could do was hope that she would, by some miracle, fall in combat and I could make my escape. But as time went by, I knew there was no escape and I had to keep serving her if I was to live."

Mine folded her arms as she eyed Liver disapprovingly. "So you stuck with her just to save your own skin." She said condemningly.

"Yes. I did." Liver hastily replied. "And before you get indignant, I had many other options besides being forced to serve her. All of them would've resulted in my death. This was the only option I had. If it's any comfort to you all, I never took part in any of Esdeath's purges or tortures. It was too ghastly and inhuman, even for the Empire."

He looked to Bulat before hanging his head in shame. "So there you have it. Your friend is a miserable coward."

Bulat had no idea what to think or say. While was angry at first, it slowly subsided into that of remorse for his long-time friend. Dutifully serving the Empire only to be betrayed and then serving under a homicidal general that could kill you if you so much as stepped out of line would break any man. If he was put in the same position as Liver, he probably would've gone down the same path as he did.

"You're not alone on that." Bols spoke up. "It's the same for me."

"You're afraid of Esdeath too?" Leone asked.

"No, not exactly. You see, I've done… _terrible_ things during my service to the Empire." Bols admitted as he tightly clasped his hands together.

"What!?" Wave balked. "What are you talking about? You're the nicest guy I know-"

"I'm not, Wave. _I'm not."_ Bols said with self-loathing. "I've killed people. Whether it was villages ravaged with diseases or prisoners at the stake who pleaded their innocence, I _immolated_ them. And one day I know that I have to face retribution for my actions."

"But-but you were only taking orders as a soldier-" Seryu reasoned before she was cut off.

"It's not an excuse Seryu!" Bols barked. "It's inevitable! It's what I deserve!"

"So why did you keep serving the Empire?" Chelsea pressed, wanting to know what had stopped him from leaving. "There wasn't anything holding you back, you could've joined the Revolutionary Army at any time."

"There was something holding me back… _my wife and daughter."_ Bols revealed to the surprise of everyone present. "I never thought that I would actually find someone who loved me and have a child. They were willing to look past what I had done. They're the whole world to me and I couldn't bear to lose them. I knew what I had been doing was wrong but if i tried to defect or voice my objections; I feared the Empire would send someone to kill my family. There was no way out!"

The tears came back in full force as Bols shook. "They're my sole reason for living and why I haven't killed myself yet for my actions! I know one day I would face judgement for what I've done but I don't want to leave them all alone! There was nothing I could do to escape…there was no way out."

Wave and Seryu felt awful. To think that their best friend was carrying this kind of emotional baggage was _staggering._ Why hadn't they noticed this sooner? Hearing about all of this made Seryu and Wave felt so… _useless._ Night Raid felt bad for Bols as he was clearly a man who just wanted to protect his family. Chelsea had heard stories about Bols being a remorseless pyromaniac but after hearing his story, it was all hogwash and it became nearly impossible to hate him for what he had done. Since she was sitting next to him, Chelsea gently patted him on the back. She couldn't think of anything to say to make him feel better.

"What about your family? Are they safe?" Susanoo inquired.

"They life far away from the Capital to the south. The creatures headed north so they're safe….they're safe." Bols replied with uncertainty.

"So what's your story?" Leone asked Run who sat next to her.

Run blinked. "Excuse me?"

"How'd you get mixed up with the Empire? Ya might was well tell us since we're all on this emotional whirlwind here." Leone firmly stated.

"Oh, please no more. I don't know how much more I can take." Wave pleaded.

Run felt a little uncomfortable with this but if his comrades and superior were able to confess, then he could to.

"Very well. I've…wanted to remove this weight from my shoulders for a while now." He sighed. "Some time ago in the central area of the Empire, I lived in a farming village near Joyou where I worked as a children's educator. Joyou was a relatively wealthy area since its land was fertile and it was quite peaceful as well as prosperous thanks to our governor. The children I taught there were very eager to learn and showed so much potential. Teaching them about the world as they looked up to me was one of the happiest days of my life."

Night Raid braced themselves. They could see it coming a mile away. "However, while I was out grading their schoolwork, my students…had all been _massacred._ Worst of all was that there were indications that they had been _raped_ before they were killed."

Wave and Seryu looked like they had just been shot. Bols felt a wave of nausea through his body. Liver visibly tensed up while Budo shut his eyes as hard as he could. Night Raid had the same reaction.

"My first action was to report this but the government officials of Joyou wanted to preserve the region's reputation as a safe outskirt village and so the entire incident was swept under the rug." Run told them grimly.

Seryu was horrified. "How could they do that?!"

"Such things are tolerated in the current state of the Empire." Run revealed.

Wave felt angry. Not angry at himself, but at the Empire. Liver clenched his fists. It was just like how he had been set up as a criminal by the Empire's toadies. Bols became frightful at Run's story, it could've happened to his daughter if he lived in Joyou. This account felt all too familiar for Night Raid, having heard of cover ups like this from their sources numerous times.

"I was outraged at this injustice and vowed to track down and eliminate the degenerate who murdered my students. I needed answers and the only way I could get them was from the Empire. With the help of Joyou's governor, who had taken a particular liking to me, she was able to help facilitate me into the Empire where I climbed up the ranks and eventually earned my Teigu, Mastema and joined The Jaegers afterwards." Run explained.

"Doing a little bit of espionage I presume?" Lubbock guessed with a smirk.

Run spared a quick glance towards Budo and cleared his throat. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"So then…Were you pretending to be our-" Wave began, his tone of voice heartbroken before he was hastily interrupted by Run.

"What?! No! _No!_ " Run exclaimed. "In the time since I've known you and the others, you have been my closest friends. That is the honest to God truth."

That had made the remaining Jaegers feel relived at this. Leone began to smile broadly. She was beginning to like this guy! "After gathering some information, I finally found my culprit. He was apparently inducted into Wild Hunt, alongside other less than savory individuals."

"Let me guess: His name's Champ, dressed up like a clown, wore a tiny baseball cap, used the Teigu known as Die Leaguer, fatter than a cow, creepy clown makeup and scary beyond all reason?" Leone accurately described.

Run blinked in surprise. "Y-yes! How did you-"

"Well, when we got out of our own predicament, we found his body when we were investigating the Capital after it got trashed. Sheele and Chelsea have heard of him." Leone revealed.

"Wild Hunt? That other police force led by the Prime Minister's son? He was with them?!" Seryu gasped.

"Why would they let someone like him-" Wave began before Najenda cut him off.

"I think you already know the answer by now." She said rhetorically.

Run resumed his tale. "My plan was to lead him to a deserted location and avenge my students without anybody knowing but then those… _things_ attacked the Capital and robbed me of my vengeance."

Leone slung an arm over his shoulder. "I feel your pain, Birdie. Those metal asshats did the same thing to me. Waited my whole life to gut Honest and then they tripped me just when I was about to reach the finish line."

Run blushed a little. "Well…it's good to know we have some similarities with each other."

"Well, ain't you the charmer!" She teased with a playful poke to his chest. She regarded the other Jaegers. "You know, you guys would've been perfect for the Revolutionary Army. You all would've made a huge difference and coming from me, that's saying _a lot_."

Seryu, Wave and Bols mulled this over. Would joining the Revolutionary Army have been a better choice? Would they have been able to do more good if they knew about the Empire's corruption beforehand?

"Actually, I had a different method of handling the Empire as opposed to the Revolutionary Army's idea." Run announced. You see, they wish to change the Empire by destroying it from the outside. I wished to change it from _within._ Think of it as a way to minimize casualties on both sides."

"Yeah! That actually sounds like a better choice! That's what you guys should've done in the first place." Wave reasoned to Night Raid. Their expressions were stoic.

"Very noble…but unfortunately, ultimately futile." Susanoo told them.

"Why!?" Seryu demanded.

"Do you have _any_ idea the lengths that Honest and his inner circle are willing to go through in order to make sure the Empire stayed the way it was?" Mine pointed out.

"Countless individuals have been wiped out by the Minister's party for harboring similar ambitions." Akame said as she looked down at the ground, seemingly in shame. "I know because a long time ago, I was ordered to kill some of them during my service to the Empire before I eventually defected."

"The darkness of the Empire runs deep." Bulat said, shaking his head. "It was impossible to change things the way they were from the inside."

"Don't get us wrong, it's a great idea that might've benefitted both sides but as long as Honest was in charge, you would've just ended up as another casualty." Lubbock told Run.

Run didn't want to believe it but relented and accepted the hard truth. Wave and Seryu looked the same.

"I wish you had brought this to my attention." Budo spoke, referring to the Jaegers and Liver. "You carry much hardship upon your backs; I could've been able to assist you in some way. I've always viewed you all in high regard and I always do my best to lend a hand to my men and soldiers who have performed exemplary service to our Empire."

" _Bullshit."_ Najenda hissed.

Budo stared daggers at Najenda as she stood up. "If you care so much about your soldiers then what about the Empire?"

"….I _do_ care about the Empire." Budo answered.

"Don't play coy with me!" Najenda shouted. "You _knew_ that Honest was the root of the Empire's problems! He was the real enemy here and yet you did nothing to stop him!"

"I had a sacred duty to perform! The Empire always came first and once the revolution had been dealt with, I would focus my full attention on Honest!" The General argued.

"You had millions of chances to end this war! Honest was the real villain but you wasted your time on us! The last Emperor would be disgusted by your inaction!" Najenda raged.

Budo instantly shot up, a look of fury on his features as electricity crackled from Adramelech. Night Raid immediately got into a defensive stance while Liver and The Jaegers scrambled away from Budo. Several tense seconds passed. The crackling of electricity subsided and Budo's enraged features began to fade.

"You know so little…" He started. "I hail from a long line of proud Generals who dedicated their lives to protect the Empire. To just cast aside our proud tradition and act on impulse would be an utter gutting of my family name! Yes, I knew Honest was the root of all of our country's misery but the Revolutionary Army was dead-set on completely obliterating the Capital! _My home!_ I wanted to show Emperor Makoto what Honest's influence was doing to our kingdom but that pig made it impossible for me to speak to him in person!"

Budo calmed himself as he sat back down. "And….it was a promise I made."

Everyone regarded Budo with a look of confusion and curiosity.

"Before this war…before _Honest_ ….when Makoto was born, the previous Emperor and Queen brought me into their chambers to introduce me to their newborn son. They asked me to make a promise: that no matter what happened in the future; I would uphold the Empire's laws and protect their son. In the history of my family's lineage, I had never been bestowed such an honor and I swore I would keep that promise to the end."

Budo hung his head. "I failed. I failed to protect Makoto, I failed to stop Honest and I failed to prevent the destruction of the Empire."

Najenda had no idea that Budo had such a close history with the Emperor and the Queen themselves and understood why he couldn't break his promise, or disobey his duty as a General. Night Raid, Liver and The Jaegers understood as well.

Budo's lips curled up into a furious snarl as he smashed his fist down onto the ground. "ALL BECAUSE OF THOSE THINGS! THOSE SOULESS, METAL MONSTERS! WE STILL DON'T KNOW A DAMN THING ABOUT THEM!"

"Join the club. We got chewed up and spat back out." Chelsea grumbled.

"We threw everything we had at them and none of it worked….." Liver breathed, shuddering at the memory of his defeat.

"They're Teigus….there's no other explanation!" Bols reasoned.

"They aren't Teigus. I know so because I'm one myself." Susanoo countered.

"You guys fought them before didn't you? Is there anything you can tell us about what happened when they attacked?" Tatsumi asked.

"Yes…you could help us fill in some blanks since were technically weren't present during the attack on the Capital." Akame agreed.

The Jaegers, Liver and Budo looked at each other with unease. They didn't want to be reminded of how badly they lost against the creatures. But since they and Night Raid were all in this together, the least they could do was tell them how it all went down.

Wave sat himself down as he ran a hand through his hair. "Where do we even begin…?"

To be continued…

* * *

 **Another tough chapter to make in my record book.**

 **The hardest part was finding a way to break the news to Wave and Seryu that the Empire was evil. I figured that if they wouldn't listen to Night Raid, they would listen and believe their superiors.**

 **Probably my favorite part was expanding or altering the Jaegers pasts, especially Liver and Budo's in order to make them more sympathetic and give them a better reason to side with Night Raid. Since this is an alternate universe of Akame ga Kill, I took full advantage of that so I hope it's considered better than what they were in canon.**

 **The next chapter will feature the long requested flashback chapter of when the Ultrabots attacked the Capital, along with their fight against Budo and The Jaegers, their attack on Esdeath's army afterwards and what they were doing in the eastern territories. The flashback chapter of the Ultrabots killing Honest and Wild Hunt will come at a later date.**

 **I'm still keeping what's going on with Esdeath a secret and Kurome will eventually works things out with Akame.**

 **I'll be going on break to resume work on Kaiju Warfare as well as work on another story, a Killing Bites x Hulk crossover.**

 **Don't forget to review but please don't flame.**


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